A vendor sells green peppers on Mabibo Street without wearing a face
mask despite the confirmed Covid-19 cases in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on
April 16, 2020. PHOTO | ERICKY BONIPHACE | AFP
Plane loads of tourists aboard Ethiopian, KLM
and Turkish airlines are expected to land in Tanzania in the next one
week, marking a critical milestone in the on-going re-opening of the
country’s economy following nearly two months of lockdown.
The
country’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, hotels and schools are all
heeding President John Magufuli’s directive to re-open the entire
economy following what he termed as significantly reduced cases of
coronavirus patients in the country.
The
president, in a public address in the capital city, Dodoma, said there
is no longer a need to curtail economic activity while hospitals across
Tanzania had empty beds having discharged nearly all Covid-19 positive
patients after they tested negative for the virus.
“God
has heard our prayers. I call upon anyone who has been touched by this
to use Friday, Saturday and Sunday to give special thanks to God,” said
President Magufuli on Thursday.
Tanzania
has not reported its national tally of Covid-19 positive cases since
April 29. Its official toll remains at 509 with 21 deaths as at May 7,
when the semi-autonomous Zanzibar island last announced its numbers.
It
becomes the first East African nation to reopen, charting a new path in
the management of the deadly virus that has infected more than 5.1
million people across the world and killed over 333,000 in about six
months.
The country’s airspace opened for
international arrivals on May 18. Among the six East African Community
member countries, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have the strictest travel
restrictions while Burundi and South Sudan have also issued public
health advisories to curb the spread of the virus.
INTERNATIONAL ARRIVALS
A
chartered plane with four Greek nationals onboard landed at the
Kilimanjaro International Airport on May 21. The visitors proceeded
straight to sample the country’s tourist attractions after the lifting
of a 14-day mandatory quarantine that had been imposed on April 4.
Entrants into the country will now only have their temperatures checked
on arrival, as per new guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health.
Tourism
is a critical sector of Tanzania’s economy, contributing about 17 per
cent to the annual Gross Domestic Product and employing an estimated
623,000 workers. About 1.9 million tourists visited the country’s parks
and beaches last year, injecting $2.5 billion into the economy according
to data from the Ministry of Natural Resources.
The
country estimates that a continued shutdown of its borders would have
drastically reduced earnings from tourism by 75 per cent. Majority of
the tourists who booked their travel prior the pandemic postponed their
trips to next year.
President
Magufuli also announced that High School candidates whose final
examinations were postponed in May will resume classes on June 1.
He
instructed the education ministry to prepare a special programme to
prepare them for the final exams later this year and enable them to join
universities without interrupting the academic calendar. Primary and
junior secondary schools will however remain closed.
Some
European countries, which form the bulk of Tanzania’s tourists, have
started re-opening their economies after months of shutdowns. The UK,
France, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Turkey and Iceland have all announced
variations of relaxations in their lockdowns that will even see them
partially re-open their airspaces.
“We’re
resuming our tourism activities, getting ready to receive international
tourists from all over the world especially now that nations have
started lifting lockdowns,” said Hamisi Kigwangalla, the Minister for
Natural Resources and Tourism.
Turkish Airlines announced that it expects to resume international flights on June 1.
“Dear
passengers, in accordance with decisions taken by the official
authorities, all international flights have been suspended until June 1
in order to protect public health against the Covid-19 pandemic,” reads a
statement published on the airline’s website.
According
to Dr Kigwangalla, both the Ethiopian Airways flight — expected on June
1 — and the Turkish Airlines flight are fully booked.
“We
have set several health measures including onboard passengers to submit
proof that they have tested negative for negative,” he said.
Ummy
Mwalimu, the Tanzania Health Minister, said in a statement on May 18,
that they had eased the country’s travel advisory “following a decreased
trend of admitted Covid-19 cases in the country”.
The reviewed travel advisory has outlined seven measures intended to accommodate international arrivals.
All
entrants will be required to fill out travellers’ surveillance forms
and submit to Port Health Authorities upon arrival. They will be
required to adhere to Infection Prevention and Control measures, which
include hand hygiene, wearing masks and physical distancing as
appropriate to avoid further spread of the virus.
Flight
operators will be given instructions on how to clean and disinfect
their aircraft before and after landing in the country.
FULL RECOVERY
On May 17, President Magufuli announced the full recovery of coronavirus patients across the country.
Speaking
at a Sunday service at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in his home
town, Chato, the president said the majority of inpatients with Covid-19
had recovered from the disease.
He
said Dar es Salaam had only 132 cases, Arusha, the tourist hub, had 11
patients, Mwanza six patients and Dodoma two, down from 40 confirmed
cases.
“Majority are in stable condition but still test positive of the virus,” said President Magufuli.
He added that colleges and universities would resume classes and sports activities would re-open if the numbers remained low.
All
commercial passenger flights, diplomatic flights, emergency aircraft
related to humanitarian aid and medical relief are now allowed into the
country without restrictions.
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