The Tanzanian government's tepid response to COVID-19 and seeming lack of transparency over coronavirus cases is fuelling concern that it is covering up the true extent of the pandemic, according to doctors and health experts in the East African country.

Since Tanzania's first known case of COVID-19 was detected in the northern city of Arusha in March, the government has officially registered 509 positive cases and 21 deaths.

President John Magufuli is chairman of the regional Southern African Development Community bloc, yet it was South Africa that called a SADC meeting this month to discuss COVID-19, and Tanzania did not participate.

The alleged politicisation of the response is reminiscent of the government's approach to Ebola last year, when it withheld information from the World Health Organisation over potential cases in the country.

The unusual COVID-19 response, which makes Tanzania something of a regional outlier, has led to much speculation, even the idea that the government could be attempting a herd immunity strategy.