Covid-19: Over 45 strategies underway to contain the spread of virus says Government

Dar es Salaam. The Tanzanian government says more than 45 strategies are underway in efforts to flatten the curve of coronavirus spread in the country.

Speaking on May 14, 2020, during the sixth edition of the Mwananchi Thought Leadership Forum (MTLF) under the theme ‘Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond’ Dr Hassan Abbasi, Chief government spokesperson said that the plans will be implemented from national to community levels.

He said that there were three special committees set to coordinate the battle against the virus spread.

“We have three special committees, one which deals with both Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar is headed by the Prime Minister.

Dr Abbasi, who doubles as the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports said that there is an executive secretariat committee that consists of between 7-9 secretaries.

“Another committee, consisting of health experts, is responsible for advising the two committees. We are also focusing on both national and community guidelines to reduce the spread of the disease,” he said.

For his part, the director of Preventive Services, Ministry of Health, Community development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Dr Leonard Subi, said their main focus is to provide people with good care to enable self-protection.

“Unfortunately, the symptoms of this disease are similar to the symptoms of other diseases. So it is vital that we enable people to protect themselves against such viruses,” said Dr Subi.

“Through evaluation, we see that Tanzania is doing well and as a nation, we are managing this disaster,” he revealed.

He said the target has been set on controlling the spread of the virus as well as reducing on the number of deaths.

“We are encouraged because about 80 per cent of Covid-19 patients have symptoms that seem benign but they are getting the necessary care to contain the infection,” said Dr Subi.

He revealed that so far the greatest enemy has been fear among people.

“At present, we continue to focus on access to resources, provision of education and community engagement. We call on the public to continue with the culture that we have begun as well as listen to expert advice,” he insisted