Killer virus: Tanzanians urged to remain calm

Foreign Affairs Minister Prof Palamagamba Kabudi

Dar es Salaam. Tanzanian government has urged Tanzanians to remain calm saying it was closely monitoring the developments of the deadly virus outbreak in China. It noted that so far, it had not received any reports of any Tanzanian being infected with coronavirus.

The call was made by Foreign Affairs Minister Prof Palamagamba Kabudi. He advised Tanzanians in China, particularly those with plans to travel abroad, to observe guidelines issued by the Chinese government.

So far, the coronavirus, which was announced in late December, has killed at least 106 people, infected more than 4,000 and spread to around 15 countries.

Reports suggest that Chinese and international scientists are studying the virus, tracking its origin and working on a vaccine -- but it could take months for clinical trials to begin and more than a year before any such drug becomes available.

However, a number of countries have since announced plans to evacuate their people from China’s Wuhan Province where the virus was first reported.

They include the US, Australia, Germany, India, Morocco, the Philippines, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka and Thailand among others.

Mongolia has closed its border with China and shuts schools and universities while Malaysia has baned visitors from Wuhan. Sri Lanka and the Philippines have announced tighter visa restrictions for people coming from China.

The World Health Organisation has since admitted that it made an error in originally assessing the virus’ worldwide threat as “moderate”, saying the risk was “high at the global level.” Beijing has extended the Lunar New Year holiday to limit population flows.

On Monday, the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) said that the planned visit of 10,000 Chinese tourists to the East African nation was suspended as the Asian country suspends travels by its nationals in a deliberate move to control the spread of coronavirus.

A statement from Tanzania’s embassy in Beijing said yesterday that diplomatic officials were in close contact with Chinese authorities so as to get official updates on the situation. “The Embassy has been making regular communications with China’s authorities about the outbreak,” read a part of the statement.

The statement called upon Tanzanian students studying in China, whose Visas were about on the expire, to contact their respective universities administrations, Education Ministry and Immigration Department for further assistance.

Moreover, the Embassy has encouraged Tanzanians living in China to remain calm and report to the relevant authorities when they faced challenges.

Zhong Nanshan, a renowned scientist at China’s National Health Commission, told the official Xinhua news agency that the outbreak “will not increase at a large scale”, noting that it would reach its peak in around 10 days. “I believe it should reach a peak in a week or around ten days,” Zhong said.