Tanzania To Re-open Universities As Virus Silence Persists

Tanzanian President John Magufuli said Thursday that universities and sports events would resume next month, after he declared that prayer had spared the country the worst of the coronavirus, even as critics say cases are soaring

Dar es Salaam, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2020 ) :Tanzanian President John Magufuli said Thursday that universities and sports events would resume next month, after he declared that prayer had spared the country the worst of the coronavirus, even as critics say cases are soaring.

Magufuli has repeatedly played down the gravity of the pandemic, and it has been three weeks since the country released official data on case numbers, which stood at 480 with 16 deaths on April 29.

However while the US embassy has said there was evidence of "exponential growth" and the opposition denounces a dangerous "cover-up", Magufuli is proceeding to open up the East African nation.

"We have decided to reopen universities starting June 1, 2020," Magufuli said at a political event in the capital Dodoma, adding that a decision on schools would be taken later.

He said sports events would resume on the same date, with social distancing measurestaken for spectators.