Tanzanian health authorities said 53 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were recorded on Thursday and Friday bringing the total number of cases in the East African country to 147.
Ummy Mwalimu, the Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, said in a statement that all the new cases were Tanzanians.
The statement said out of the 53 new COVID-19 cases, 38 were recorded in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, one each in Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Coast, Lindi and Kagera regions with Zanzibar reporting 10 new cases.
The statement said there was one new death bringing to five the total number of people killed by the virus since it was first reported in the country on March 16.
Eleven patients have recovered and four of the remaining 131 patients were in serious condition caused by other medical ailments, said the statement.
On Thursday, Tanzanian President John Magufuli declared three days of prayers beginning Friday over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, Mwalimu warned that the COVID-19 infections could soon spread to communities as the east African nation started to record local transmission cases.
She said Tanzania has moved away from recording imported cases to documenting local transmission cases of the deadly viral disease.
