John Magafuli, the bombastic president of Tanzania, has dismissed the idea of lockdowns and vaccines to protect his country from the Covid-19 pandemic, saying that God and homespun remedies will offer better protection.
According to Reuters, Magafuli dismissed Covid-19 vaccines, saying that if they were good the ‘white man’ would have developed one for HIV/AIDS.
On lockdowns, Magafuli was quoted as saying: ‘We Tanzanians haven’t locked ourselves in and we don’t expect to lock ourselves down. I don’t expect to announce any lockdown because our God is living and He will continue to protect Tanzanians.’
He also said Tanzanians would use their own remedies to combat the virus.
‘We will also continue to take health precautions including the use of steam inhalation. You inhale while you pray to God, you pray while farming maize, potatoes, so that you can eat well and corona fails to enter your body. They will scare you a lot, my fellow Tanzanians, but you should stand firm.’
Tanzania has not reported any Covid-19 data since last year and, officially, the country is Covid-free – although this is highly unlikely.
In South Africa, the government’s top Covid-19 advisor, Salim Abdool Karim, has said the country is emerging from the second wave and that thought should be given to lifting the various level 3 lockdown restrictions, such as the closing of beaches and the ban on alcohol sales.
The seven-day rolling average of cases and hospital admissions has shown a steady decline and the peak is now firmly behind us.
Karim also said that the country is likely to see a third wave of Covid-19 when winter sets in.
[Picture: Issa Michuzi, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56548356]