Tanzania said on Tuesday it had summoned the top official at the US embassy to object to an advisory that warned of "exponential growth" of Covid-19 cases in the east African nation.

The embassy's "health advisory" published earlier this month contained inaccurate information, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The US embassy's charge d'affaires, Inmi Patterson, met with Wilbert Ibuge, permanent secretary at the foreign ministry, who reminded Patterson about the two countries' "historical cooperation", the foreign ministry said.

Tanzanian President John Magufuli has repeatedly played down the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic, and it has been nearly a month since the country released official data on case numbers, which stood at 480 with 16 deaths on April 29.

Laboratory officials were suspended earlier this month after Magufuli said he had secret tests performed in which a papaya and a goat tested positive.