Dar es Salaam —
Today marks seven days since the government released results of samples
tested for the coronavirus, as health authorities coordinating the
Covid-19 fight say they are still working on
Until yesterday,
the only publicly available update on the state of Covid-19 in the
country was a report issued since Wednesday last week by Prime Minister
Kassim Majaliwa which indicated that there were 480 confirmed cases of
the viral disease with 16 deaths in Tanzania.
The data combined
results of samples obtained from Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar. But
according to the National Coordinator for Covid-19 Response and Ministry
of Health's Public Health Emergencies' Risk Communication Officer, Dr
Tumaini Haonga, the testing of samples is ongoing at the National Health
Laboratory and results would be announced by the relevant authorities.
He did not,
however, explain if there was a set date or interval for release of the
data.On Sunday President John Magufuli took a swipe at the test results
issued by the National Health Laboratory, saying the lab should be
investigated for alleged "sabotage," after samples of sheep, pawpaw and
goat that were secretly sent to the facility returned positive results.
The laboratory's
director, Dr Nyambura Moremi, and the quality assurance manager, Mr
Jacob Lusekelo, remain suspended pending investigations, heightening
concerns as to whether further results on tested samples would be
released to the public.
Dr Haonga told The
Citizen yesterday that people who have been tested for Covid-19 in the
country are receiving results but he emphasized, saying the public
release of the results will depend on whether there is enough data to
issue out to the public.
"We noted that it
was not sensible to give daily updates of small numbers. It was then
decided that a comprehensive report would be issued by the Ministry of
Health or another relevant authority at an opportune time, alongside
other public health sensitisation messages on Covid-19 prevention," said
Dr Haonga.
The Zanzibar
Ministry of Health says it would resume the process of releasing results
next Monday. For the past six days, Zanzibar had stopped issuing
results of the tested coronavirus samples.
The minister, Mr Hamad Rashid Mohammed, told The Citizen that a new testing machine was still being installed in the Isles.
"We ordered for a
testing machine which we are in the process of installing and we will
start issuing results by Monday nest week," said the minister in a phone
interview.
The Covid-19
testing results are central to the management of the disease and are key
in helping relatives of the deceased who test positive to know how to
conduct the burials.
The Chief Medical
Officer Prof Abel Makubi on Tuesday said the government had allowed
relatives who preferred to be given the bodies of their loved ones for
burial at their homes to do so.
He asked regional
authorities to set procedures that would help people to conduct burials
as they protect the general public against
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