Tanzania now free of coronavirus after prayers – President John Magufuli

The President of Tanzania John Magufuli has said that the country is now free from coronavirus, thanks to prayers by citizens.

“The corona disease has been eliminated thanks to God,” Mr Magufuli told worshippers in a church in the capital, Dodoma.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern over the government’s strategy on Covid-19.

The government has stopped publishing data on the number of coronavirus cases in the country.

On 29 April, the last day official data was released, there were 509 cases, with 21 deaths in Tanzania. However, Mr Magufuli said last week that only four patients were receiving treatment in the largest city, Dar es Salaam.

Last month, Tanzania’s government dismissed a US embassy warning that hospitals in Dar es Salaam were “overwhelmed” and that the chances of contracting the virus was “extremely high”.

Mr Magufuli has repeatedly said the health crisis has been exaggerated and urged people to attend services in churches and mosques, saying that prayers “can vanquish” the virus.

More than seven million people have now been confirmed to have the coronavirus with at least 406,500 dying from the disease, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The US, the UK and Brazil have recorded the highest death tolls. The US, Brazil and Russia have the most cases