Pressure on President to lift church ban is a recipe for disaster
A Doctoral fellow, at the Virologist Department of the University of Cambridge, Dr. Sabastine Eugene Arthur has warned against the easing of restrictions on public gathering, as any attempt could exacerbate the country’s condition. The country’s case count had hit a total of 5, 127, with 494 recoveries and 22 deaths. Speaking on Skyy Power FM’s morning show on Tuesday, with host Samuel Kojo Brace, Mr. Sabastian counselled church leaders in the country to exercise a little restraint as the time for worshiping will definitely resurface.
Many churches are currently running services online through social media platforms to engage their members in their homes. Such has become necessary as the President has extended the ban on all social gatherings till 31st May 2020. The condition has affected churches in the country and thus, called on the President to consider lifting the ban so they can resume their service but with strict adherence to preventive protocols.
Dr. Sabastine Eugene Arthur, says the churches must rather consider providing series of education to the populace to reduce the spread of the virus. He says the government of Ghana should hesitate in opening up its restrictions on public gatherings.
“I’ve heard a lot of religious leaders asking the president to lift the ban on church gatherings, that is a bad call since it could further increase the cases. The president should not listen to the religious leaders. They should rather assist the government to educate the populace to reduce the number of infected persons. Opening churches at this time will only double the figures,” he indicated.
He commended government for the measures taken so far to contain the virus. Adding that,
“the measures do not necessary mean that the virus has been defeated, it only provides the capacity by government to contain the virus. We should be careful when copying from other countries so we don’t copy blindly, because Ghana as a country has its own strength and weaknesses, so we should have our own guidelines like the government is doing and perfect them with that of the World Health Organization so that we can effectively fight the virus. The government of Ghana is currently doing well by providing PPE’s and others for health workers but cases should be managed so they don’t overwhelm the health facilities,” he indicated.
