This archive report was first published on 17 May 2020.
On Sunday, May 17, 2020, Tanzania's President John Magufuli made a rare appearance at a church service, where he expressed optimism about the country's COVID-19 situation.
Despite warnings from Western envoys, including the US, that Dar es Salaam is a hotspot for the virus, Magufuli stated that cases are actually declining. He attributed this success to God and announced plans to reopen the economy, including schools, tourism, and football leagues.
Magufuli also criticized neighboring countries, including Kenya, for closing their borders, saying it goes against good relations. He insisted that trucks from Tanzania will not cross the border and all transactions will have to happen at entry points.
Furthermore, Magufuli downplayed the virus, stating that his child had contracted coronavirus but only needed to self-isolate, drink lemon water, and undergo steam inhalation before making a full recovery.
He warned authorities against treating all deaths as if they're corona-related and questioned the intentions behind tallying deaths and postmortems to determine if it was coronavirus.
Magufuli also ordered that people be allowed to mourn their relatives as they've been, rather than restricting mourners and hurrying burials.
