ZANZIBAR has temporarily suspended direct flights from Italy as the revolutionary government intensifies preventive measures against the deadly Coronavirus.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll flights from Italy are immediately suspended until further notice,\u201d Health Minister Hamad Rashid Mohamed told reporters here on Friday, assuring that the Indian Ocean\u2019s autonomous archipelago remains safe from the incurable virus.<\/p>\n
Minister Hamad also banned all unnecessary gatherings, citing the imminent moonlight party, which had expected over 1,000 participants, mostly from outside the country.<\/p>\n
He condemned indiscriminate dissemination of rumors on the virus, which subjects unsuspecting members of the public to unnecessary fright, threatening stern legal measures against the gossips.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnxiety has become a more serious problem than the virus itself,\u201d said Mr Hamad, imploring all Zanzibaris to relax as the government does whatever is within its reach to prevent the country from the infections, which had as of Yesterday affected 85 countries, including Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, America, France, Italy, German, United Kingdom, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria and Senegal.<\/p>\n
The Coronavirus was first reported last December before the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed it on January 7, 2020. The epidemic started in Chinese Hubei Province\u2019s Wuhan city and spread to other continents.<\/p>\n
According to the latest WHO reports, already 93,000 cases and 2,984 deaths have been reported, globally.<\/p>\n
\u201cFortunately, the virus has not entered Zanzibar,\u201d said Minister Hamad, warning however that: \u201cThe environment we are in indicates that we are at high risk of getting the infections due to its rapid spreading and an influx of visitors from the affected countries\u2014China, Italy and Arab countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
He warned that the virus can subject the country to adverse economic, social and development impacts due to Zanzibar\u2019s high reliance on service industry, tourism in particular.<\/p>\n
The minister advised all Zanzibaris to take precautionary measures against the disease, saying: \u201cNeatness is so far the only effective weapon against this tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He commended the Chinese government for an exemplary job to quell the disease, arguing that had it not been the hard work by the world\u2019s second largest economy, the entire world would have unimaginably suffered.<\/p>\n
\u201cChinese great efforts have helped to reduce the infection rate from the initial 2,000 to 3,000 cases daily to hardly 120 cases today. This gives a big lesson to all nations to emulate towards eliminating the calamity fast,\u201d said the minister, adding that Chinese are welcome to Zanzibar, thanks to their strict precautionary measures.<\/p>\n
Director of Preventive Services in the Ministry, Dr Fadhil Abdallah said Zanzibar is well equipped for coronavirus\u2019 initial testing, noting that for secondary testing, \u201cWe use NIMR (National Institute of Malaria Research) laboratory in Dar es Salaam.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said all local administrators through Shehias have been trained on the virus, assuring that all the 25 illegal seaports in Zanzibar were critically monitored.<\/p>\n
Among the government\u2019s anti COVID-19 strategies include screening of all visitors through airports and seaports, formation of various expert teams, training of 91 health personnel on coronavirus victims\u2019 handling and procurement of 500 sets of personal protective equipment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ZANZIBAR has temporarily suspended direct flights from Italy as the revolutionary government intensifies preventive measures against the deadly Coronavirus. \u201cAll flights from Italy are immediately suspended until further notice,\u201d Health Minister Hamad Rashid Mohamed told reporters here on Friday, assuring that the Indian Ocean\u2019s autonomous archipelago remains safe from the incurable virus. Minister Hamad also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":4813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,7,8,12],"tags":[1683,2330,603],"class_list":["post-4821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-policy","tag-coronavirus","tag-italy","tag-zanzibar"],"yoast_head":"\n