Magufuli, whose government has already drawn criticism for being
secretive about the coronavirus outbreak and has previously asked
Tanzanians to pray the coronavirus away, said the kits had
“technical errors”.
The COVID-19 testing kits had been imported from abroad,
Magufuli said during an event in Chato in the north west of
Tanzania, although he did not give further details.
The president said he had instructed Tanzanian security forces
to check the quality of the kits. They had randomly obtained
several non-human samples, including from a pawpaw, a goat and a
sheep, but had assigned them human names and ages.
These samples were then submitted to Tanzania’s laboratory to
test for the coronavirus, with the lab technicians left
deliberately unaware of their origins.
Samples from the pawpaw and the goat tested positive for
COVID-19, the president said, adding this meant it was likely that
some people were being tested positive when in fact they were not
infected by the coronavirus.
“There is something happening. I said before we should not
accept that every aid is meant to be good for this nation,”
Magufuli said, adding the kits should be investigated.
As of Sunday, Tanzania had recorded 480 cases of COVID-19 and 17
deaths but unlike most other African countries, Dar es Salaam
sometimes goes for days without offering updates, with the last
bulletin on cases on Wednesday.
Magufuli also said that he was sending a plane to collect a cure
being promoted by Madagascar’s president. The herbal mix has not
yet undergone internationally recognised scientific testing.
“I’m communicating with Madagascar,” he said during a speech,
adding: “They have got a medicine. We will send a flight there and
the medicine will be brought in the country so that Tanzanians too
can benefit.”
COVID-19 infections and fatalities reported across Africa have
been relatively low compared with the United States, parts of Asia
and Europe. But Africa also has extremely low levels of testing,
with rates of only around 500 per million people.
Magufuli, whose government has already drawn criticism for being
secretive about the coronavirus outbreak and has previously asked
Tanzanians to pray the coronavirus away, said the kits had
“technical errors”.
The COVID-19 testing kits had been imported from abroad,
Magufuli said during an event in Chato in the north west of
Tanzania, although he did not give further details.
The president said he had instructed Tanzanian security forces
to check the quality of the kits. They had randomly obtained
several non-human samples, including from a pawpaw, a goat and a
sheep, but had assigned them human names and ages.
These samples were then submitted to Tanzania’s laboratory to
test for the coronavirus, with the lab technicians left
deliberately unaware of their origins.
Samples from the pawpaw and the goat tested positive for
COVID-19, the president said, adding this meant it was likely that
some people were being tested positive when in fact they were not
infected by the coronavirus.
“There is something happening. I said before we should not
accept that every aid is meant to be good for this nation,”
Magufuli said, adding the kits should be investigated.
As of Sunday, Tanzania had recorded 480 cases of COVID-19 and 17
deaths but unlike most other African countries, Dar es Salaam
sometimes goes for days without offering updates, with the last
bulletin on cases on Wednesday.
Magufuli also said that he was sending a plane to collect a cure
being promoted by Madagascar’s president. The herbal mix has not
yet undergone internationally recognised scientific testing.
“I’m communicating with Madagascar,” he said during a speech,
adding: “They have got a medicine. We will send a flight there and
the medicine will be brought in the country so that Tanzanians too
can benefit.”
COVID-19 infections and fatalities reported across Africa have
been relatively low compared with the United States, parts of Asia
and Europe. But Africa also has extremely low levels of testing,
with rates of only around 500 per million people.