The nation received good news on Thursday after 26 people, who came into contact with a coronavirus patient, tested negative, but three new cases reported on the day underlined the need for increased efforts in anti-COVID-19 battle.
The newly-reported cases, all in Dar es Salaam, took the country's tally of diagnosed COVID-19 cases to four days on after the first case of a 46-year old woman was reported in Arusha.
The Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms. Ummy Mwalimu said yesterday in a press statement that the new victims are Dar es Salaam residents.
The statement gave the details of two victims; both male at 40, and apparently caught the virus outside the country. They travelled outside the country between March 5 and 17, this year.
"The first victim a male aged 40 left the country on March 5 to Switzerland, Denmark and France and returned to Tanzania on March 14, the second one travelled to South Africa on March 14 and returned on March 16," the statement stated.
According to the Minister, both of them have already been isolated in Dar es Salaam and they are doing well, with the ministry maintaining that all cases have so far been imported.
Expounding further, Ms Mwalimu said the government is following up 112 contacts in Dar es Salaam and Arusha to establish whether they have been affected or not. 46 of them are in Dar es Salaam and the remaining 66 are in Arusha.
All these are those who might have met or contacted the isolated patients.
On Monday, the Minister announced the first coronavirus case that affected Arusha-based lady, Ms. Isabella Mwampamba, who visited Belgium, Sweden and Denmark.
The other two cases were announced on Wednesday by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, who said the victims were two foreigners one is a United States citizen who was in Dar es Salaam and the other one was a Ghanaian, who arrived in Zanzibar from Germany.
In Arusha, yesterday there was a sigh of relief as results released by the Government Chief Chemist Laboratory in Dar es Salaam after testing samples of 26 persons who got in touch with Ms. Mwampamba, showed that all of them are safe.
The Arusha regional authorities and the Ministry for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children had taken blood samples of 26 people for testing and analysis after it was found that in one way or another, they had contact with Ms. Mwampamba.
Arusha Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr. Mrisho Gambo issued the update yesterday morning at Njiro, Arusha, saying it was good news not only to the 26 people and their families, but also to the Government and the general public as that would mean delay or control of the virus infection to other people.
"All 26 people whose blood samples were taken for testing and analysis have been proven to be coronavirus-negative. We are happy to get such information from the National Health Laboratory in Dar es Salaam," said Mr. Gambo.
The RC also revealed that the patient - Ms Mwampamba - was recovering well at the isolation centre she has been put at after she reported for testing and possible treatment at Arusha Regional Referral Hospital (Mount Meru) on Sunday.
Ms. Mwampamba, a resident of Arusha returned to the country after travelling to some European countries and landed at the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) aboard Rwandair.
She then took a taxi to Arusha town and settled at a hotel. The samples that tested negative are of the taxi driver, his family members, contacts at the hotel and others.
However, the RC called upon the general public to keep adherence to directives issued by the Ministry responsible for health and other experts on how to protect themselves and help prevent spreading the virus.
Preventive practices include washing hands regularly for 20 seconds with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub; covering nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when one coughs or sneezes; avoiding close contact (a meter or three feet) with people who are unwell and staying home and self-isolate from others in the household if one feels unwell.