According to local media in Tanzania, an unidentified illness has been causing patients to vomit blood. Channel Africa reports that health officials in Chunya district said that some victims had died within hours.

A team of experts has been deployed by the health ministry to investigate. However, the illness has been ruled out as an epidemic, with the ministry claiming the symptoms exhibited had been reported from as early as 2018.

The Chunya district chief medical officer, who had confirmed the illness to local media, has been suspended. Channel Africa reports that the ministry has urged the public to remain calm. It has vowed to provide more information to the public pending an investigation.

Meanwhile, Tanzania continues to assert that it has had no coronavirus cases for the last 6 months, despite infections appearing to be on the rise as deaths attributed to pneumonia continue to rise. Tourists are still visiting Zanzibar, where there are no coronavirus prevention measures in place whatsoever. The Roman Catholic Church in Tanzania, however, has warned its followers to try and keep themselves protected against the virus. The government of Tanzania, nevertheless,  has, in what’s been seen as sending out mixed messages, advised people to avoid gatherings and to go to the hospital if they experience difficulty in breathing.

President John Magafuli has stated that Tanzania would not be ordering any vaccines, saying they were dangerous.

Umm Muhammed Umar