Tanzania’s health minister on Friday announced the government was shutting down 74 out of 85 designated COVID-19 facilities across the country for lack of patients.
The ministry said in a statement that Ummy Mwalimu announced the move after closing down a designated facility at Lulanzi in Kibaha district in Coast region.
“The last COVID-19 patient at this Lulanzi designated facility was discharged on May 26 and there is no patient that has been admitted to the facility until today,” she said.
“We have remained with 11 designated COVID-19 facilities around the country which are on the process of being closed down as cases of the viral disease continue to decline sharply,” she said.
The minister however warned Tanzanians against laxity in the fight against the disease in a bid to avoid any new wave of infections.
Mwalimu said the closed-down designated COVID-19 facilities were now offering normal health services and urged people to visit the facilities saying they were free of COVID-19, according to the statement.
The East African country reported its last COVID-19 update on 29 April, with 509 confirmed infections and 21 deaths.
The Tanzanian government opened schools in late June, having okayed international flights, having expressed satisfaction with the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
