Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Sunday dismissed coronavirus test kits used in the country after the test kits returned positive results on samples taken from a goat and a pawpaw, reported Reuters.
During an event in Chato in the north west of Tanzania, Magufuli said the kits imported from abroad had some technical errors.
In order to tests the kits, the Tanzanian authorities had randomly obtained several non-human samples, including from a pawpaw, a goat and a sheep, and assigned them human names and ages. All the samples were then submitted to the laboratory to test for the coronavirus, with the lab technicians left unaware of their origins.
The president pointed out that the samples from the pawpaw and the goat tested positive for COVID-19 and this meant it was likely that some people were being tested positive when in fact they were not infected by the coronavirus.
“There is something happening. I said before we should not accept that every aid is meant to be good for this nation,” Magufuli said.
The president added that considering the results, the test kits should be investigated.
Magufuli’s government has already drawn criticism for being secretive about the coronavirus outbreak and has previously asked Tanzanians to pray the coronavirus away.
Tanzania had recorded 480 cases of COVID-19 and 17 deaths as of Sunday.
In related news, on Saturday Magufuli announced the government has decided to send a plane to Madagascar to import a herbal tonic touted as a cure for Covid-19 even as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned there was no proof of any cure.
The alleged herbal medicine is produced from the artemisia plant – the source of an ingredient used in malaria treatment. It was launched as Covid-Organics after being tested on fewer than 20 people over a period of three weeks.
