As the number of Covid -19 cases in Tanzania hit a total of 254 with 10 reported deaths, horrified Tanzanians are now calling for a partial lockdown of the country.

Led by opposition leader Zitto Kabwe of the ACT Wazalendo Party, the leaders have called upon President Magufuli to enforce a lockdown on regions such as Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Arusha.

The opposition MP insists that is the only way to slow down the pandemic which is spreading across the country like bushfire.

Tanzania recorded its first case of corona virus on 16 March and in the past few days, numbers have jumped to 254 cases with 84 new cases reported on Monday alone by the government. President Magufuli has declined to ban religious gatherings and so churches and mosques continue to hold meetings.

“We are not closing places of worship.That is where there is true healing. Corona virus is the devil and cannot survive in the body of Jesus.”

He was quoted saying.

The president’s statement contradicted evidence from South Korea, where over 50 percent of the confirmed corona virus cases have been traced to congregations at a church where members sat together without wearing masks.

The number of Covid-19 Cases in Tanzania is distributed across various regions in the country from the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar to areas such as Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza and Dodoma.

With a population of approximately 7 million people, it is feared the number of cases in the city of Dar es Salaam is likely to skyrocket especially in the informal settlements where majority of the people reside.

Tanzania’s lack of transparency in the management of the Ebola outbreak in 2019 was condemned by the World Health Organization and analysts fear the Magufuli administration may not give the true picture of the Covid-19 situation in the country.

While President Magufuli would prefer prayers as a measure to safe the economy and fight the corona virus, he forgets that his actions will hurt the economy more if the country is eventually overwhelmed by the pandemic.