In Tanzania, Covid is first and foremost a word not to say

View of Dar-es-Salaam, the former capital and main economic city of Tanzania (photo).

Getty Images / Ariadne Van Zandbergen

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

While several African countries are now facing a second wave of Covid-19, in the east of the continent, in Tanzania, silence reigns over the virus.

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Last June, President

John Pombe Magufuli

, a claimed “coronasceptic”, declared victory over the virus through prayer.

Now his government is threatening to prosecute anyone who talks about the pandemic for "attacking national security."

Despite everything, the veil of silence begins to lift.

It is not yet an admission, but almost.

On Monday, Finance Minister Philip Mpango appealed to respect barrier gestures, even though he maintained the official argument that Tanzania does not have Covid-19.

On social networks, Tanzanians, on condition of anonymity, are beginning to mention the virus.

Like this patient who says he contracted the virus last June.

In his testimony, he indicates that he was advised to take honey and lemon to treat what the doctor called a "

cold

".

He says he has suffered from it.

Ambiguous terms

To avoid possible prosecution, the doctors are walled in silence, explains this actor of the civil society, who also wished to remain anonymous: “

We have relatives who are health personnel.

They tell us that the coronavirus circulates a lot in the country, but since they do not have the right to talk about it and inform the patient concerned in a roundabout way.

I'm sure they note Covid-19 as a pattern in their records, but when they talk to their patients, they use ambiguous terms.

Here the disease is called severe or chronic pneumonia.

 "

To get out of denial, religious leaders have stepped up calls to their followers in recent days, urging them to take all necessary precautions to stop the spread of the virus.

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  • Tanzania

  • Coronavirus

  • John Magufuli