Tanzania’s fight against Covid-19 is utterly questionable.

The East African nation Wednesday confirmed 30 new cases pushing their total numbers to 284.

The country’s prime minister Kassim Majaliwa confirmed the new cases at a national prayer event at Karimjee Grounds.

Majaliwa asked the population to pray for the nation as the numbers continue to rise. 53, 84 and 30 in a space of a week makes the country the region’s hot spot.

The President John Pombe Magufuli declared 3 days of prayers last week.

Magufuli tweeted: “Ndugu zangu Watanzania, kutokana na ugonjwa wa Corona, nawaomba tutumie siku 3 za kuanzia tarehe 17- 19 Aprili, 2020 {Ijumaa, Jumamosi na Jumapili} KUMUOMBA MWENYEZI MUNGU aliye muweza wa yote atuepushe na janga la ugonjwa huu. Tusali kwa kila mmoja kwa imani yake, atatusikia.”

Translated as: “Fellow Tanzanians, due to the pandemic, I urge to use these three days, from April 17 to April 19, to pray for God’s protection and healing.”

However, the prayers were preceded by a bloody day with the nation’s health minister Ummy Mwalimu confirming 84 new cases.

Citizens a mixed reaction to his call for prayer. While many applauded his call, there those that had reservations for pushing prayers at the height of a virus that spared no one.

His doubters felt he needed to call people to action by borrowing a leaf from the region.

Kenya were the hot spot of the East African region. To-date their numbers (303) are still higher than Tanzania’s.

However, East Africa’s biggest economy realised they needed to act tough. Health Chief Administrative Secretary, Dr. Mercy Mwangangi, took fellow countrymen and women head on.

Dr. Mercy ordered everyone to return to their homes before curfew and those who stayed behind would be quarantined for 14 days.

She pushed for washing hands with soap regularly, using sanitizers and people to stay home. The results have been encouraging since her message.

Kenya had 15 cases on Tuesday and posted 7 on Wednesday.

Rwanda and Uganda have been tough since the virus invaded the region. President Paul Kagame and President Yoweri Museveni imposed lock downs to their countries.

Kagame’s Rwanda has 150 cases without fatalities while Uganda has kept their numbers decent at 63 without fatalities as well.

Health minister Mwalimu has been interesting despite her bosses pushing for prayers. She has been urging her population to maintain social distances and wash hands with soap.

But she needs to the top leaders to preach a similar gospel. Tanzania escalating problem requires regional attention. President Museveni during his national address on Sunday told the country he had called Rwanda leader Kagame to share his peoples’ worries about Tanzania.

Kagame is the chairperson of the East African Federation. It remains to be seen whether or not they had a conversation with Magufuli on his strategy for Covid-19.