KENYA: No Vigil Services or Processions, Interfaith Council Cautions Amidst Surge in Covid-19 Cases
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
As most Christian denominations look forward to the upcoming Holy Week and Easter festivities, the leadership of Interfaith Council for National Response to Coronavirus pandemic has warned Kenyans to avoid night services and other related processions as Covid-19 reported cases keep increasing.
“We have all noted the daily increase of Covid-19 cases, and the daily statistics of deaths caused by disease. All gatherings must adhere to the guidelines and no processions or night vigil services are allowed,” the Interfaith Council says in their collective statement dated Tuesday, March 23, reminding the people of the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Council led by Archbishop Anthony Muheria of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nyeri has noted that all worship services should not exceed 120 minutes and urged religious leaders to increase the number of services so as to reduce the number of congregants in each service.
The Tuesday statement urges the elderly over 65 years to continue worshiping from home due to the high danger of death infections and ass the Religious leaders to “look for safe ways to attend to them in their homes.”
After Kenya confirmed the third wave of Covid-19, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the “country was facing an infection that is more aggressive and non-discriminatory.”
Due to this, the Interfaith Council laments that many infections take place at funerals where the “risk and danger is very high,” hence they have warned Kenyan’s to avoid attending funerals except for close relatives.
“We need to reduce the attendants at funerals to 100. This basically means to the family members,” the Council members warned in their collective statement.
The Religious leaders have also encouraged vaccination saying, “We are happy that the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 has kicked off. We believe it will assist greatly in containing the spread of the Infections.”
“We still urge the Ministry of Health to continue giving as much information on the vaccine as possible as well as address any doubts raised by the public,” the Interfaith leadership said, urging all religious leaders to encourage their people, especially the elderly, “to take this second shield of protection by going to be vaccinated.”
In conclusion, the Council calls for closer collaboration from the government and religious bodies and leaders though which sensitization to the grassroots and greater impact to larger number of Kenyans will be realized.
“Let us not forget that our main weapon still continues to be prayer. We cannot slacken in our intensity of prayers or stop asking God to intervene and end this pandemic,” they said.
