COVID-19: Foursquare Gospel Church calls for prayers, caution
The Uyo District/State Overseer of Foursquare Gospel Church has called on Christians to continue praying for the eventual defeat of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The church also urged Christians and churches not to flout the COVID-19 safety guidelines, to avoid a surge in infection rate.
The plea was handed down by the church through its district overseer, Rev. Victor Akpan, during a chat with newsmen after the 2020 district convocation held at the district headquarters, Afaha Ube, Uyo.
Rev. Akpan noted that his church has adhered to the Covid-19 safety guidelines since churches were reopened, and expressed the belief that the virus will soon be eliminated.
He solicited for more prayers from Christian faithful “during this difficult moment.”
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Emphasizing the need for safety guidelines to be followed by all, the cleric warned against mistaking the issue of hygiene for spirituality.
For our safety and our loved ones, let us not spiritualize the safety guidelines, we are talking about hygiene. They say ‘wear a mask, keep a social distance.’ People perish, for lack of knowledge, let us not challenge the health professionals on what they are doing,” he advised.
“The Bible says in Ecclesiastes that wisdom is profitable to direct. We need to be wise at a time like this,” he added.
Earlier in a lecture titled: how to protect oneself from contracting Coronavirus, a guest speaker and medical professional, Dr Sylvester Agwai recommended strict adherence to the World Health Organization’s precautions.
Agwai said “regular and thorough cleaning and washing of your hands with an alcohol-based sanitizer or with soap and water go a long way to safeguard someone”, adding that “washing your hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand rub kills viruses that may be on your hands.”
Other safety guidelines handed down by Dr Agwai included: maintaining of at least one-metre distance between oneself and others as well as avoiding touching of eyes, nose and mouth. “Hands touch many things and can pick up viruses. A contaminated hand can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth,” he explained.
He also recommended adherence to good respiratory hygiene which entails using a nose mask, covering of mouth while coughing or sneezing, self-isolation of at least 14 days with minor symptoms such as cough, headache and mild fever.
Dr Agwai noted that churches have a huge role to play in sensitizing the public on COVID-19, and commended the church for adhering to the safety guidelines.
