South Sudanese Council of Churches has appealed to the government to rescind the decision to totally ban gatherings in churches.
In a statement released on Saturday, signed by the council chair Bishop Arkanjelo Wani Lemi, the clergy said a total ban on gatherings is unfair and that places of worship should be allowed to operate at half capacity and in conformity with the rules.
The statement said, ‘‘The Church acknowledges that there is an increased surge of COVID-19 globally and locally in South Sudan. As such we recommend the recently announced partial lockdown buy the National Taskforce on COVID-19 to mitigate the strength of the second wave in the country.
Banning of Sunday Church services seems to be rather harsh for the church institutions and we appeal that such restrictions be relaxed for the activities of the church to operate at half normal capacity..’’
The council advised the government to use scientific methods to map the potential hotspots of the virus so that not all the corners of the country are affected.
‘‘We advise the National Taskforce to conduct a scientific mapping to ascertain the areas affected by the surge in the country. This will help the National Taskforce on COVID-19 to effectively address and impose targeted restrictions.’’
The National Taskforce on COVID-19 announced a partial lockdown on February 4 citing increase in COVID-19 cases in the country. Apart from restricting gathering in places of worship, the government directed that places of learning should remain shut unless learners are taking examinations. Also affected were businesses that attract gatherings like bars, Shisha joints and nightclubs. Buses were ordered to carry half capacity.