Is It A Joke? Not Human But Papaya Tested Positive With COVID-19 In Tanzania

On May 3, John Magufuli, Tanzania president announced that the COVID-19 test kits that the country had been using turned out to be faulty after papaya and a goat tested positive with the virus.

In an event in Chato on May 4, Magufuli said that the country imported the kits from abroad and did not give further details.

After finding out that the kits delivered false results, the President asked the Tanzanian security force to check the quality of these kits. Previously, a number of non-human samples were randomly taken, including papaya, a goat, and a sheep. These samples were then sent to the lab for testing. The technicians weren’t aware of these samples’ origin.

And the test results surprised everyone when the samples from the papaya and the goat were positive with COVID-19. According to Magufuli, this means that it is very likely that some people tested using the kits might have received the wrong results.

The president requested a thorough investigation into this issue.

On May 3, President Magufuli fired the head of the uni in charge of distributing medical supplies and equipment to government hospitals but gave no specific reason. A day later, Catherine Sungura, the head of the communications department of the country’s Minister of Health said that the laboratory director and manager, the people responsible for the testing process, were already suspended.

A committee of 10 people was established to look into the laboratory activities, including sample collection and testing.

As of May 3, Tanzania recorded 480 cases of COVID-19 and 17 deaths. However, unlike most other African countries, the updated information on the situation in Tanzania is quite slow, with the last update was from April 29.

>>> A Tiger Tested Positive For CO.VID-19, Got It From A Caretaker