Tanzania’s Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa has announced the cancellation of this year’s Union Day celebrations – which commemorates the merging of Tanganyika and Zanzibar to become Tanzania.
It’s one of the most important dates in the country’s calendar, celebrated annually on 26 April.
“President John Magufuli has also directed that a sum of 500 million Tanzanian shillings ($217,000; £173,000), set as a budget for the Union Day celebrations, should be reallocated to the fund for fighting coronavirus in the country,” said Mr Majaliwa.
He also extended the closure of schools, colleges and universities indefinitely as part of the measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country.
The closure order was imposed last month, immediately after the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in the country, and was due to end on Friday.
Mr Majaliwa also confirmed four new coronavirus cases, tested in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. It brings the total number of cases in the country to 53.
President Magufuli recently said gatherings in churches and mosques had not been banned yet despite the coronavirus outbreak because that was where there was “true healing”.
Source: BBC
About The Author
