Covid-19: Magufuli should stop living in denial and act

More than a year since Covid-19 reared its ugly head, President John Pombe Magufuli still doesn't believe it really exists. Even after killing nearly 2.5 million people worldwide, the Tanzania leader until now sees the disease as a big hoax. Despite upending the global economy and cutting short livelihoods for millions of people, Dr Magufuli still thinks Covid-19 is some form of a cruel joke.

Not long after the coronavirus was reported in Tanzania, the president expressed scepticism over its existence and afterwards declared Tanzania free of the disease. God, he told a church congregation, had 'removed' the pestilence from Tanzania.