Displaying items by tag: Europe

A prayer report looking at Covid-19 Hot Spots, Flattening the Curve, and Hopes for a Vaccine with links to resources

As of 30^th July, the total global figure for people infected by Covid-19 stands at 16.8 million according to the World Health Organisation. In addition, the current death continues to rise above 660,000.

Covid-19 hot spots

The US remains the worst affected country globally in terms of total numbers of cases and deaths with nearly 4.6 million cases and over 150,000 deaths. A record 78,000 cases were reported in just one day on 24^th July with 21 states labelled as ‘red zones’ categorised as by their case rate of more than 100 per 100,000 people in the past week.

Brazil has opened its air borders to tourists despite no sign of new cases decreasing and registering new record case and death numbers in recent days. One particular high-profile case in the country was that of the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a long-term sceptic of the severity of the virus. He has since recovered from illness.

South America as a whole now has more confirmed cases than the US and Canada put together. With poor levels of testing taking place, these case numbers are likely far from the truth. A study in Lima, Peru estimated that a quarter of people in the city may be infected, leading to the suggestion that a similar trend may be taking place in other South American cities. Brazil and Peru, along with Colombia, Argentina, and Mexico, are among the top ten countries in the world for new cases each day.

India has become the third most infected country with 1.6 million confirmed cases. However, the true number is likely much higher since testing is not easily available for all; especially for those living in slums where the likelihood of transmission is increased due to close-quarters living conditions and shared sanitation facilities.

Large areas of Europe have managed to dramatically reduce the prevalence of coronavirus, although they have not managed to completely eradicate it. Russia still has the most new cases and deaths daily by far, followed by Spain and France where there have been recent regional outbreaks. Romania and Ukraine have seen continued increases in case numbers after failing to significantly minimise the virus after its first peak.

It is not well known how severe the situation is in Africa since there is a major lack in testing. The International Rescue Committee have said that they fear the continent is “fighting the epidemic in the dark” with limited data to work from hampering their response to the pandemic. Other countries around the world struggling to contain the virus include Indonesia, South Africa, and Israel, where the numbers of new cases and deaths are rising.

Has the curve flattened?

In some countries around the world where good social distancing has been practised, masks worn where necessary, efficient testing and quarantining has taken place, and test-and-trace systems have been implemented, the rate of infection has been shown to fall and in some places be reduced to 0. This has been fully enacted by small countries and island nations and has seen positive results from larger countries such as New Zealand, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Iceland where the virus was once prominent.

In other countries, there has been impatience during lockdown, not waiting long enough for case rates to fall before reopening. This prevents a reduced rate of transmission, which doesn’t work towards the eradication of the virus. Through further restlessness and more easing of lockdown restrictions, the rate of transmission has increased again producing a so-called ‘second spike’ as shown by the recent dramatic increase in cases in the US or Israel.

The efforts that have been put in place by countries all over the world have reduced the impacts of the virus, though. Without the measures such as social distancing designed to reduce transmission, the new numbers of cases would likely not have dropped, and the death toll would have been much higher by now.

Vaccine update

Over 165 vaccines are currently being developed by teams all over the world in the race to find a solution to the pandemic. 27 of these are currently in human trials to prove that they work as intended and are safe for wide-spread use.

A vaccine produced by the University of Oxford has been shown to trigger an immune response creating neutralising antibodies and T-cells in the recipient after a single dose in 90% of participants, although not without possible side-effects such as fever and headaches. Larger trials will take place across several countries to ensure the vaccine is safe and then “challenge trials” will be performed where willing participants are deliberately infected with coronavirus to observe the vaccine’s response.

Let us continue to declare that the novel coronavirus is defeated by the blood of Jesus.

We pray for divine intervention and for God's name to be glorified even as each nation and government tries its best to flatten the curve and finally arrest this epidemic. 

We release wisdom, skill, and integrity upon our leaders. 

We pray for protection, wisdom and strength, for those working to bring treatment and comfort to the sick and their families.

We pray special grace and help for the vulnerable population and nations. We pray for refugees and displaced peoples. We pray against domestic violence and other crimes that have become rampant during lockdowns.

We pray for a safe, effective, and affordable vaccine to be released soonest but without including aborted baby cells in its creation, neglecting proper testing protocols, and without including any digital ID tracing (“health passport”) which could bring about totalitarian control.

We continue to release faith, hope, and love over the peoples of the world. May the Church seize this opportune time to manifest Jesus our Lord and Savior to those who are seeking answers and peace.

Pray: Lord God, the One who has Almighty power, we agree according to your promise in Matthew 18:18-20 that this virus will be stopped in its tracks. That the medical researchers will get a download from Heaven on how to quickly develop a vaccine to counteract COVID-19 and a cure for those who have become infected.

We also agree in prayer, asking that the Body of Christ worldwide will rise up in love and boldness, trusting in your blood to cover and protect us and throwing off fear, so that we can be available to serve, bless, and bear witness to those around us who are terrified and depressed at being infected.

Let us seize this unprecedented opportunity to make you known to those without hope in Christ!

Thank you for your promise that surely, you will be with us "always, even to the very end of the age”  so that we can carry on with the mission you have given us for our world (Matthew 28:20).

Sergei Furgal, governor of the far eastern city of Khabarovsk, was interrogated and ordered to be held in jail for two months. Thousands of demonstrators have been gathering in the streets for three weekends to show their anger over the Kremlin's replacement of this popular regional governor. The sustained demonstrations represent a growing challenge for Putin, who is viewed as having a role in sparking the regional crisis after he fired Furgal. Many have called for his resignation. Others chanted ‘Disgrace’ and denounced the acting governor appointed by Putin. According to protest leaders and independent journalists, over 50,000 people demonstrated in Khabarovsk, which would make it the largest anti-government protest there since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Protesters see criminal charges raised against Furgal before his dismissal as unsubstantiated. They are demanding he stand trial at home instead of in Moscow, where he has been transferred.

Brexit talks have stalled over a series of key issues; neither the UK and EU has shown any willingness to make concessions. The future of British fisheries has remained one bone of contention since the start of the talks, as the EU continues to demand access to UK waters at the end of the transition period. Tim Bale, the deputy-director of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, suggested Boris Johnson is unlikely to give in to EU demands because of their ‘symbolic’ importance. It’s all about the slogan that won the referendum, ‘Take back control’.

Some churches have faced the lockdown challenge by simply meeting the needs of their existing congregations. This could be a missed opportunity to discover what it might look like to ‘go and make disciples’ in the 21st century and beyond. Let us not forget that many revivals started outside the church and were later embraced by the church. This pandemic has introduced the many of the older generation to Skype, FaceTime and Zoom, which has helped those who live alone at home or in care to feel less isolated. The church in this new season still has a fundamental Christian mission to build relationships, to worship together, pray together and serve together. Each church must seek God to discover what He is asking of them. God is giving His church an opportunity electronically to ‘throw out a new net - where there are many fish’, and we can give thanks for the increase in online views of church services during lockdown.

EU leaders have agreed on a 750 billion euro coronavirus relief package, both in loans and grants. A major accomplishment: for the first time all 27 members agreed to share the financial burden to rescue some of its members. However this is just the first step on a long road to recovery. The fine print is thorny. Any individual member state can delay disbursement of funds to another member by questioning the recipient's spending plans. For example, this would allow a country to put a temporary hold on funds for another if the Hague has a bone to pick about overspending. Not a veto, but it could delay the release of much-needed funds and pit countries against each other. Also money will not be released until 2022. So if Italy and Spain continue borrowing to pay for their domestic rescue plans, they will owe much more a year from now and be in a worse financial position to respond to any second coronavirus wave.

The pandemic has been disruptive for centralised service-based models of congregation. However, churches based on small groups are less affected by the crisis. With self-organisation in simple, organic, house church movements, there is no dependence on church buildings and pastors - making these groups more financially resilient. Their resources are available for mercy ministry and mission in discipleship movements. In the last twenty years, we have seen a gradual paradigm shift in the church on what it means to follow Jesus. The emphasis is no longer on church membership or a program you follow, but on a daily life led by God's Spirit in connection with others, both inside and outside church walls. The church is seen as an organic network. This requires abandoning control and systems, and discerning with other Christians how and where God is at work. Coronavirus can help the church become such a movement, consisting of people who live and act in dependence on Christ: see https://mailchi.mp/joelnews/jni-1177?e=10cd13704c

The European Court of Justice has rejected a crucial EU-US data sharing deal that could have serious ramifications for the relationship between Europe and Britain. Thejudges rejected the Privacy Shield agreement between the bloc and the USA. The tool is used by thousands of firms to protect Europeans’ personal data when it is transferred across the Atlantic. The agreement prompted complaints amid privacy concerns about the United States’ surveillance watchdogs. As part of the post-Brexit future relationship talks, the two sides want to establish an agreement to enable smooth flows of data after the transition period expires in December. The UK has fully rearranged the EU’s procedures into national law, but has a controversial track record in mass surveillance. In 2018 a European court ruled the UK had breached human rights protections in its mass surveillance programmes.

Forest fires have ravaged several villages in Luhansk in areas held by Russian-backed separatist forces. Water-bombing planes, the national armed forces and hundreds of firefighters are battling high winds and soaring temperatures that are spreading the fires. The governor of Luhansk region suspects the fires were started by arsonists. He hopes that separatists nearby are not attacked as they tackle the blazes but ‘cannot give any security guarantees’. Luhansk is currently divided between Ukrainian control and the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LNR) amid an ongoing conflict in the east of the country. More than 13,000 people have been killed so far. Also, recent heavy flooding hit nearly 300 towns and villages in the west of the country. Climate change, illegal logging, and deforestation have all been blamed.

Six men were arrested in the Netherlands following the discovery of seven shipping containers converted into cells and torture chambers after French police cracked encrypted phones used by criminals. Dutch police said the containers were found before they were used, and potential victims were now in hiding. Officers found handcuffs attached to the floors and ceilings of the structures, which had also been soundproofed. They also discovered police clothing and bulletproof vests, pruning shears, scalpels, and balaclavas. Police also found another criminal base in Rotterdam. Two of the suspects were also detained for possession of weapons. The arrests are among 800 made across Europe related to gang warfare in drugs and money- laundering activities after EncroChat messages were intercepted and decoded. EncroChat, based in France, had an estimated 60,000 subscribers. See also UK article ‘Criminal chat network cracked’.

The lockdown in most of Europe is gradually easing. Social distancing regulations remain in force, but there is no distance spiritually between us and our Father in heaven. We can continue to pray for Europe, and for Germany which assumes the presidency of the EU Council for six months from 1 July. Its government has announced a 130 billion Euro recovery package to strengthen and promote investment from businesses and municipalities. Please pray that in the coming economic challenges that there will be an attitude which serves and protects people’s lives rather than finances (Leviticus 25:35-37). Social unrest has intensified recently in Europe and globally. In times of crisis, social solidity comes under pressure and the divisions within society drive people apart.