Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli has once again done the unexpected by banning fumigation in Dar es Salaam and other parts of the country, saying the exercise is only effective in eliminating mosquitoes and cockroaches, and not ridding an area of coronavirus.

He said this during an address to the nation on Wednesday April 22, 2020 the president said there is no proof that fumigating an area shields it against coronavirus.

“if that was the case, then developed countries that have been fumigating cities day in, day out, could have already been rid of the novel coronavirus, completely, ”he said.

Magufuli said no amount of fumigation can kill coronavirus and that the fumigation that was done in is stupidity.

“There is no amount of fumigation that kills coronavirus. The so-called fumigation that was done in Dar es Salaam is stupidity. You can’t kill coronavirus using chlorine. Such an exercise only eliminates mosquitoes and cockroaches. From today (Wednesday, April 22), I order that the Ministry of Health stops all fumigation exercises in Tanzania. Unless we are ridding cities of mosquitoes and cockroaches, I do not want to see any fumigation taking place,” he said.

Currently Tanzania is the second most infected state in East Africa after Kenya with a national tally of 284.