Following the lifting her earlier measures to combat Covid-19, Tanzania will have entrants into the country checked their temperatures on arrival as per new guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health. This as expected will see loads of tourists flocking Tanzania’s airports over the course of the week.
This will be a land mark as all countries worldwide look forward to re-opening of the country’s economies following nearly two months of the pandemic lockdown.
Across the main city of Dar es Salaam, hotels and schools are revamping their services as per the President’s directive to re-open the entire economy following what he termed as significantly reduced cases of coronavirus patients around the country.
The president, in a public address in the capital city, Dodoma, said there is no longer a need to curtail economic activity while hospitals across Tanzania had empty beds having discharged nearly all Covid-19 positive patients after they tested negative for the virus.
“God has heard our prayers. I call upon anyone who has been touched by this to use Friday, Saturday and Sunday to give special thanks to God,” said President Magufuli on Thursday.
However, it should be noted that Tanzania has not reported its Covid-19 positive cases since April 29. Its official toll remains at 509 with 21 deaths as of May 7, when Zanzibar Island which is part of mainland Tanzania last announced her new cases.
This makes Tanzania the first East African nation to reopen since the pandemic first struck. The country’s airspace opened for international arrivals on May 18. Since then, a chartered plane with four Greek nationals onboard landed at the Kilimanjaro International Airport on May 21. The visitors proceeded straight to sample the country’s tourist attractions after the lifting of a 14-day mandatory quarantine that had been earlier imposed.
As per the standing guidelines, entrants into Tanzania will now only have their temperatures checked on arrival, as per new guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health. The country estimates that a continued shutdown of its borders would have drastically reduced earnings from tourism by 75 per cent. Majority of the tourists who booked their travel prior the pandemic postponed their trips while others cancelled them.
President Magufuli also announced that High School candidates whose final examinations were postponed in May will resume classes on June 1. He instructed the education ministry to prepare a special programme to prepare them for the final exams later this year and enable them to join universities without interrupting the academic calendar. Primary and junior secondary schools will however remain closed.
“We’re resuming our tourism activities, getting ready to receive international tourists from all over the world especially now that nations have started lifting lockdowns,” said Hamisi Kigwangalla, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism.
More so,Turkish Airlines announced that it expects to resume international flights on June 1.
“Dear passengers, in accordance with decisions taken by the official authorities, all international flights have been suspended until June 1 in order to protect public health against the Covid-19 pandemic,” reads a statement published on the airline’s website.
All commercial passenger flights, diplomatic flights, emergency aircraft related to humanitarian aid and medical relief are now allowed into the country without restrictions.
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