Those visiting Tanzania and its islands, including Zanzibar, can rest assured that it is very much “business as usual” and travellers are in no way at risk from the Marburg virus.

In fact, in the next few weeks Tanzania should be free from the virus and the semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar remain open for business and are ready to welcome travellers from around the world.

This assurance was issued by the Minister of Tourism for the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, Simai M Said. 

He noted: “As we head towards the ‘Green Season’, the Zanzibar archipelago has yet to record a single case of the Marburg virus first detected in March 2023, in the north-west Kagera region of mainland Tanzania.”

According to Said, since the lifting of COVID19 restrictions, the archipelago has seen an influx of visitors from the United States and the Middle East as well as those from its core European markets. It is anticipated this trend will continue in the coming months and throughout summer.  

He added that while the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recommended that travellers avoid contact with sick individuals and monitor any potential symptoms, it had not advised against travelling to Tanzania and Zanzibar.   

Furthermore, Said highlighted that it was important to understand that the islands of Zanzibar were located in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, separated by 1 588km of ocean and land between the islands and the Kagera region on the mainland. “As such, it poses no risk of infection,” he said.

“While the United Republic of Tanzania and the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar is monitoring the situation closely, there is absolutely no cause for alarm,” he emphasised.

“Given that COVID-19 is still fresh in our minds, we understand that people are cautious when learning of new infections. However, such fears are often unfounded, such is the case now. Tanzania is adhering to the World Health Organization standards,” he said.

Findings by the United Republic of Tanzania’s Ministry of Health, in collaboration with WHO, show that as of April 4, total number of remaining Marburg virus cases in the Kagera region was three, of which only two remain in isolation after one person was discharged on April 5.

The outbreak of the disease was announced on March 21 and, since then, the CDC has reported as recently as April 8, that the disease is still confined to the remote Kagera region.

“This is further evidence that the spread of the virus has been halted. As we prepare to welcome our annual influx of visitors from the Northern hemisphere and the Middle East, they can be safe in the knowledge that the virus is contained and presents no threat to them or the citizens of Zanzibar,” related Said.

Meanwhile, the United Republic of Tanzania has deployed rapid response teams for the purposes of contact tracing and monitoring risk communication activities, measures that are proving highly successful with limiting the spread of the virus in the Kagera region.

Zanzibar is set for a bumper tourist season, with the country already welcoming 65 430 international visitors in February – an increase of 39.2% on the 46 995 visitors recorded in February 2022, according to the Ministry of Tourism.