Coronavirus cases rise to three in Tanzania

Dar es Salaam. The number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in Tanzania rose to three on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the government has announced.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Wednesday that two more cases have been confirmed.

He said the two are foreign nationals from the United States and Germany. One case was confirmed in Dar es Salaam and one in Zanzibar.

The first case who was reported in Arusha on Monday is reportedly doing well according to Health Minister.

On Monday, health minister Ummy Mwalimu announced the first confirmed case in Tanzania.

She said a 46-year-old Tanzanian woman had tested positive, adding that a thermo-scanner initially did not detect high body temperature when she arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) from outside the country on Sunday.

The woman, who was not named, left Tanzania for Belgium on March 3.

“Between March 3 and 13, she also visited Sweden and Denmark. She then went back to Belgium before she arrived home on March 15 when her flight landed at KIA,” Ms Mwalimu said.

Despite showing no sign that she needed further testing, the traveller was sceptical about her health.

“She told me by telephone that she lived in a house whose owner contracted Covid-19,” Ms Mwalimu said, adding that the traveller went into self-isolation at a hotel in Arusha.

“She later went to Mount Meru Hospital in Arusha. Her samples were received at around 1am today (yesterday), and the National Health Laboratory confirmed that she had Covid-19.”