Judges in north-western Tanzania have been told to avoid issuing jail sentences “at all costs” in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Top judge S M Rumanyika also instructed them to grant bail to all offenders who qualified.

These were among eight guidelines he issued in a letter to several district courts to help stop the spread of the virus in prisons.

Others included limiting those in court to lawyers and their clients and barring accompanying visitors.

“You will notice these guidelines contradict common practice and maybe to some extent the law. But know that other people’s lives and our own are more important,” Judge Rumanyika said.

At present, the East African nation has five confirmed cases of Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by coronvarus.

Since the first case was confirmed on Monday, authorities have rolled out several measures to prevent its spread.

Schools and universities have been shut for at least a month, public gatherings banned and visitors told not to enter prisons or parliament buildings.

On Thursday, popular Tanzanian rapper Mwana FA took to Instagram to announce to his three million followers that he had Covid-19.

The musician said he had decided to go public about his status to help people realise that the infection was "real" and to encourage Tanzanians to look after each other.