Samia Suluhu Hassan, vice-president of Tanzania, announced the death of President John Magufuli on national television on Wednesday evening.
The late President of Tanzania had been a sceptic since the beginning of the pandemic.
According to Hassan, the president died of heart complications at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, former capital of Tanzania.
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He did not disclose if the complications was due to the Coronavirus.
Before his death, he had been absent from public functions since late February.
Tanzanian government had dismissed rumours that the late president had been infected with the coronavirus.
He had asked his country’s citizens for prayers to defeat “respiratory diseases”.
Under his watch, Tanzania had stopped publishing records of its coronavirus cases, weeks after announcing its first infection in March 2020.
In May 2020, the president had expressed worry over the validity of results using test kits, after claiming that pawpaw and goat were tested which came back positive for the virus.
However, in February 2021, the government had asked citizens to ensure adherence to the non-pharmaceutical interventions for preventing spread, such as wearing of face masks.
The directive came after Seif Hamad, vice-president of Zanzibar, died weeks after he reportedly contracted the coronavirus — Zanzibar is a part of Tanzania, but with its own government.
Magafuli’s death comes four months after he was elected to a second term in office in November 2020 — he won over 80 percent of the total votes against Tundu Lissu, his main rival.
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