The corona pandemic has not played a role in Zanzibar for some time - which is attracting numerous vacationers to the island.
But is the island really corona-free?
Stroll along the beach, enjoy the turquoise sea and don't worry about Corona - this dream is already a reality on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar *.
President John Magafuli declared the pandemic over from one day to the next in June 2020: "We have prayed and fasted," he said, according to several media reports.
"God heard us." The vacation paradise sees itself as "Corona-free" - which is probably mainly due to the fact that Covid-19 tests have not been carried out for months.
Tourists are allowed to enter without restrictions, only a temperature measurement is carried out at the airport.
However, this does not usually lead to a test or quarantine obligation.
Zanzibar in a corona-free "parallel world": no distance, no masks
It seems more than questionable that Tanzania is actually Corona-free.
Especially since over 100,000 people are already infected in the neighboring state of Kenya, as the Neue Züricher Zeitung (NZZ) reports.
On Zanzibar, however, this is completely ignored: "Everything is like in the wonderful old world", according to the NZZ, accommodation in northern Zanzibar should write.
“Welcome to paradise!” One vacationer who recently returned from the island speaks of a “
completely parallel world
”.
Nobody would obey any rules.
A journalist is said to have stated after his last stay: "Most of the island totally ignore it - locals and tourists." Masks are hardly to be seen on the island, but
parties and football games take place quite normally
.
Restaurants are also full.
Travel without corona restrictions: vacationers come to Zanzibar en masse
This relaxed approach to the
corona pandemic
recently caused horror at the rating company Skytrax, which took a closer look at the Zanzibar airport: "
We are shocked about the poor health and safety standards
at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport," said boss Edward Plaisted according to
aerotelegraph.com
.
"Our teams have carried out Covid-19 audits at airports in many parts of the world for the past eight months, and this airport is worse than we could ever have imagined." Corona security protocols are simply not in place.
There are no instructions on hand hygiene, distance rules or the wearing of masks.
Neither can you buy a face mask at the airport.
According to Skytrax, there are only a few dispensers with disinfectants.
Due to the mass of passengers, it is also hardly possible to keep your distance.
Because the fact that
the corona pandemic no longer plays a role in Zanzibar
seems to have got around among
those
who like to travel.
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Eastern European and Russian package holidaymakers in particular should be drawn to the East African island en masse these days.
According to the NZZ,
five charter
planes from Ukraine and Russia alone would
land on Zanzibar
on some days
.
At the request of the Swiss daily newspaper, the Kiwenga Beach Resort confirmed that business was going well.
According to the report, the number of tourists in Zanzibar in the past two months is roughly back at the previous year's level.
(fk) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network.
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