Tanzania’s new president says it’s ‘not proper’ to ignore COVID

Samia Suluhu Hassan signals a shift in approach from the COVID scepticism of her late predecessor, John Magufuli.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has said it is “not proper to ignore” the coronavirus pandemic, in comments suggesting a shift from her COVID-sceptic predecessor, who downplayed the disease. Hassan announced she would create an expert coronavirus task force to advise her government, saying they would canvass global opinion on the pandemic and make recommendations about “remedies” and policies. “It is not proper to ignore it. We cannot reject or accept it without any evidence from research,” Hassan told her newly appointed permanent secretaries at a swearing-in ceremony in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday.