DAR ES SALAAM, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian health authorities on Wednesday warned over a surge in COVID-19 cases as the east African nation inched toward the festive season that attracts gatherings.
"People should continue observing precaution measures against COVID-19 as statistics show a surge in the pandemic," said Dorothy Gwajima, the Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children.
Gwajima was speaking at the launch of the second phase fast track and participatory COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the northern tourist city of Arusha that targets to inoculate between 80,000 and 100,000 people daily countrywide.
Gwajima said currently about 47 samples of suspected cases of COVID-19 were being tested daily in the country's national central health laboratories compared to 14 samples that were tested daily in the recent past.
"This shows that infections are on the increase," said the minister, adding that the infections of the pandemic were likely to rise during the festive season.
She said people were still complacent when it came to taking precaution measures against the virus, including washing hands with soap and running water, using sanitizers, wearing face masks and social distancing.
Abel Makubi, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health, said by Dec. 18, Tanzania received 4,421,540 various doses of COVID-19 vaccines and a total of 1.27 million people have been fully vaccinated, an equivalent of 2.21 percent of all Tanzanians.
Makubi said by Dec. 18, a total of 28,214 people tested positive for COVID-19 and 737 people died from the virus.
Tanzania intends to vaccinate at least 60 percent of its 60 million people. Enditem
