London, May 21, 2020 (AltAfrica)-Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has announced that university students and final-year secondary students will return to class on 1 June.

Sporting events, which have also been halted for at least two months to stop the spread of coronavirus, will also resume then.

But other secondary school and primary school pupils will not be returning yet.

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The president’s announcement is another clear indication that Tanzania is determined to go back to business to normal.

“In the current trend, I have not heard any sports person died from the coronavirus and that means sports are not only important for fun but also in the fight against the viral disease,” he said.

Tanzania stopped giving out daily statistics on new infections several weeks ago, but President Magufuli insists that the country’s infection rates have significantly declined.

Unlike other countries in the region, Tanzania has not imposed a lockdown or imposed strict restrictions on its citizens, though they are urged to social distance, wear face masks and wash their hands.

On Tuesday, Tanzania lifted restrictions on flights and said those entering the country would no longer need to undergo mandatory quarantine.

Neighbours such as Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya imposed full lockdowns or curfews and movement restrictions.

Kenya last week angered Tanzania by closing its land border to anything but cargo, after a rising number of cases were imported from the country.

More than 100 truck drivers from Tanzania have been turned away after testing positive at the Kenyan border in recent days.

However Magufuli said Sunday that cases had “drastically dropped in hospitals following prayers.”

Some countries, like the United States, believe that the number of cases in the East African nation could be much higher than has been reported, something which the authorities dispute.

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