Come to church - Mensa Otabil begs his congregants
- Congregants at ICGC have been urged to resume in-person attendance
- General Overseer of the church, Dr. Mensa Otabil made this call on New Year’s eve
- Ghana is readying for a new deadlier and contagious strain of the coronavirus
Head pastor and founder of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Dr. Mensa Otabil, has admonished his congregation to resume in-person services at Church.
Addressing congregants at the Cross Over service to usher in the New Year, Pastor Otabil, acknowledging the impact the coronavirus has had on religious activity, nonetheless charged congregants to “step out of the ark” and attend church service.
READ ALSO: GHOne TV to never air Bukom Banku's programme on TV this new year
The International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) is among many other churches who held virtual services on television, radio and online so as to check the spread of the deadly virus. The church canceled one of its biggest annual conferences – Greater Works in 2020. It was part of strict measures the church took against the spread of the Coronavirus.
Source: Facebook
“2021! It is time to step out of your ark. It is time for in-person services. Come to church!” he admonished.
The major task ahead for Ghana’s infectious disease center will be to trace and track if the new contagious variant of Covid-19 is in the country.
This new variant of the deadly virus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is more contagious than the Coronavirus the world is battling.
Already, South Africa has been the first African country to record a case of this new strain of the virus. Nigeria is the latest to have recorded its first case.
Speaking on CitiFM on Ghana’s preparedness, Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, revealed that aggressive testing is currently underway to determine whether Ghana has any case.
He believes any case will be readily monitored and tracked especially when Ghana has one of the best test and trace regimes in Africa.
Meanwhile, Ghana is expected to roll out a mass vaccination program against Covid-19 in June of 2021. Medical experts revealed on Joy News’ Newsfile program that the ministry of health is currently in the procurement stage of millions of doses.
READ ALSO: A virus deadlier than COVID-19 will come again from China -Badu Kobi on 2021
Even though Ghana has outlined strategic interventions to check the spread of the Coronavirus, enforcement has been very weak across the country. The Ghana Medical Association has condemned what it described as “the indiscipline by Ghanaians to adhere to safety protocols against Covid”.
Many Ghanaians go about their business without a face covering. The sale and purchase of hand sanitizers have also dropped as though the virus has been completely defeated in the Sub Region.
Cases keep getting recorded, especially in Accra. A recent graphical presentation of the spread of the virus shows a spike in the first and second weeks of December.
Presently, Ghana’s new reported case stands at 62 as at the 14th of December. Infectious disease experts at the Ministry of Health fear the cases could spike by January 1.
Ghana’s Covid-19 cases have been on the rise since October, with daily case counts spiking in the tens. Disease experts from the University of Ghana project that over 1 million Ghanaians have the virus - despite recent cases being over 45,000.
Meanwhile, President Akufo Addo has assured of Ghana’s preparedness to roll out a mass vaccination program against Covid-19. Speaking at his recent Covid-19 address, the president revealed that procurement processes are far advanced to secure millions of vaccine doses in 2021.
This assurance comes as Nigeria, Ghana’s next door neighbor, has recorded a new case of the Covid-19 variant which global scientists fear is more contagious than the Covid-19 we know.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
