Our cycle of interviews with our Camillian confreres who work and live in Africa is starting today. We asked them to tell us about the current situation and the effects of coronavirus on the population.
Today we bring you the testimony of Fr. Shukrani of the Camillian Delegation in Tanzania – Community in Da es Salaam

What is the current situation in the country? How many confirmed cases of COVID have been established?

Tanzania being a developing country has few and poor health facilities, which makes the situation already overwhelming. The confirmed cases as per 22 April 2020 were 254 testing positive to the virus, with 11 recovered and 10 registered death. However, with only few people getting tested, there might be a number of cases that go unnoticed. The mostly hit region of the country is the business city of Dar es Salaam, where majority of us (members of the order) are located. The situation in the rural areas is still not bad, with few or no cases reported.

Did you detect aggressive pneumonia (among the population) before the virus outbreak?

Sometimes back in November 2019, the government through the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (MoHCDEC) issued a statement that there were cases of flue-like disease among the population, where people affected were experiencing flue accompanied with fever, headache and general malaise. The Ministry said that it was looking into the case to see if the flue virus has mutated. On 20 December 2019, the Ministry again informed the public that after investigation, it has realized that the virus is not new. It is the same virus that has been causing flu and other air related respiratory diseases including pneumonia. That the only difference was that there were more cases in comparison to the previous year 2018 and therefore the Ministry wanted to assure the public that there was no influenza pandemic in the country.

What measures have you taken?

People are advised to avoid places that congregate people together (to implement social distancing), flights in and outside the country have been suspended, people are advised to wear mask and stay at home (there is no lockdown, though). The MoHCDEC gives upadtes on a regular basis, isolation centres have been established, centres for testing (only those with symptoms) and quarantine centres are set for the confirmed cases in Dar es Salaam and other different regions of the country such as Mwanza, Arusha, Kilimanjaro, etc. Meetings, seminars and conferences have been barred, however religious gatherings for worship have not been banned, though so far the diocese of Rulenge-Ngara has decided to suspend mass for a period of 30 days. In addition, the president called for three national days of prayer from 16 to 18 April 2020. It was also advised that people should not travel unnecesarily, especially to or from affected cities. This is an attempt to make sure that the people from affected areas do not spread the disease to other areas, especially the rural areas.

What was the response of the people?

People respond positively, however the hand to mouth activities of the general population especially in a city like Dar es Salaam makes it hard to adhere to the letter. A number of people are unemployed or employ themselves in the informal sector that need them to go out on daily basis, and those sectors put people together. These include markets, alcohol bars, local food stores, public transport, etc. Not going out for these people means having no food for themselves and their families. People have been encouraged to wear masks but with a number struggling to get food, mask is a luxury.

What scares you the most?

From where I am, I can hear the sirens of ambulances every after few minutes. I am most scared by the fact that the pandemic is hitting a population that is already struggling with basic needs, and a number already with low immunity due to cases of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, malaria, diabetes, heart diseases, etc. Also, I am afraid as many of the developing countries, we do not have enough facilities in terms of prevention, testing and qurantining those with symptoms. There is so much fear among the general population that may lead to people fearing to help the sick. In addition, the gatherings in places of worship might spread the disease further to unimaginable number of people. I am most scared that even the little, people could do to put food on the table for their families, they can no longer do. There is now a double threat for the people; corona virus and hunger. The later makes the stay home plea difficult for people to observe.

Are the treatments working?

I hardly cannot say with certainty as to whether they work or not. However, the 11 officially reported recovered cases can give indication on the direction of the success of treatment.

What is really needed?

What is needed is a deliberate attempt to help the most vulnerable members of the society to cope and survive during this health crisis. These include the single mothers who were selling clothes in the markets, selling bites to kids in the now closed schools, universities and colleges, sex workers, bus transport touts, those who depended on different ceremonies to get their living such as decorators, master of ceremonies (popularly known as MC), etc. The very poor will not be able to afford the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and with them, those who have lost jobs due to the crisis will need stipend (either in cash or in kind) to make them survive.