Displaying items by tag: Health and Safety

On 10 May Boris Johnson will announce plans to ease lockdown restrictions. High Street retailers want to hear how they might reopen. There will be bargains as managers try to shift stock. People are wondering if they will be able to meet friends and family. Will small groups of friends or relatives meet in a small group or in ‘bubbles’? Recently a grandmother asked a Downing Street briefing if being able to hug her grandchildren would be among the first changes. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that her question ‘brought home the emotional impact’ of lockdown, and he hoped she could do it ‘as soon as possible’. Pray for God to direct every decision made by our leaders as they plan the various stages of our nation’s future. Pray for company bosses rethinking how premises and equipment are shared as they organise safe walking routes in offices, on factory floors and building sites.

Cox’s Bazaar is the largest refugee settlement on earth. One million Rohingya refugees, half of whom are children, have been cramped together in these camps since 2017, after they were forced to flee their homes in Myanmar to escape horrific violence. Now they face yet another threat to their lives with Coronavirus. The potential death toll is unimaginable in the densely packed camps. Social distancing is not an option. Refugees live in cramped conditions in makeshift bamboo and tarpaulin shelters. Access to clean water is severely limited, so the hygienic practice of regular hand-washing is almost impossible to achieve. The government and food distribution agencies are developing new ways to distribute food that minimise person-to-person contact. Rohingya volunteers are educating camp communities about the importance of hand-washing. Pray for good communication between the agencies focused on essential healthcare and food distribution to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The European Union is showing major evidence of stress thanks to the pandemic. Every member state considers its own national interests over those of the rest of the EU. Economist Branko Milanovic called the crisis ‘a huge test of European solidarity’, as countries close borders and hoard medical equipment. When Italy requested help from other member states to fight the coronavirus not one responded, but China did. Germany and France were condemned for blocking the export of vital medical supplies, calling into question the bloc's solidarity in times of crisis. Pray for humility and compassion to replace nationalist dialogue, and for members to return to the founding principle of unity.

Many people over 70, pregnant women, and those with underlying health conditions are now in voluntary lockdown, taking personal responsibility to stay away from potential infection. Continue to pray for their protection and peace of mind. The nation should avoid gatherings and crowded places, including pubs, clubs, theatres, underground and even the workplace if they can work from home. Pray for a calm response to these government requests. Most schools are shut ‘to reduce social contact throughout society’. Children of ‘key workers’ and those who receive free meals or depend on school for food and security will be catered for in some classrooms with a skeleton staff. Pray for any ‘anomalies’ in these provisions to be speedily resolved, for example teachers who are parents with school children at home. Pray for wise government strategies and for parents presented with childcare issues. Some stay-at-home parents will struggle financially. May government provisions be adequate for these and other vulnerable groups.

What will life be like for the over-70s in self-isolation in the countryside? When Carol, aged 70, heard on 15 March that she could be stuck indoors for the long haul, she took the first bus of the day four miles into Bridport to buy supplies. ‘I was the only person on the bus and when I got to the shops some shelves were bare. I tried to book a Tesco delivery but there were no slots until 4 April.’ Her story is repeated across the country. Elizabeth Harley, a lay preacher at the Chapel in the Garden in Bridport, runs a community fridge which distributed four tonnes of surplus food to people in need last year, but gifts to her project are now scarce. However, thanks to a coronavirus community support Facebook page, Carol has received many encouraging offers of help.

In light of Government guidance around non-essential contact, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have said that public worship is suspended until further notice. Churches should be open wherever possible, but no public worship services should take place. Prayers can be said on behalf of everyone, and churches should consider ways of sharing this with the wider community. There are digital resources available. Funerals are significant events with family and friends gathering to express grief, give thanks for the life lived, and commend the person into God’s keeping. Christian funerals will continue but with some adaptations - limiting the numbers of those attending to immediate family, and using technology to capture the event for those who are unable to be there in person. Also, social distancing measures should be observed. Churches remain committed to offering pastoral and spiritual support, sharing the love and hope of Jesus Christ. For special prayers and liturgy go here

Pastor Huang Lei leads a church in Wuhan. The coronavirus crisis makes it impossible for his church to have their usual gatherings, so they are meeting online. They are not just doing church, but being church. ‘First, we have more than 50 groups,’ he says. ‘Almost all the groups are meeting via the internet - praying, studying the Bible, sharing, witnessing, praising and worshipping. Of those 50, we have over 30 groups spending two hours every day to pray, worship, share and testify together. That’s far more frequent than our normal meetings. Of course, now we have more free time; everybody is staying at home, so that’s given us the chance to do this. But we usually have the group meeting weekly and now we’re doing this daily. Sometimes even more, so we are very grateful for that.’

We must continue to look to God and pray that people would not become unduly fearful. Pray that the coronavirus will not have any negative effects on the preparations for, and progress of, many Christian and secular Easter celebrations across the country. When times are at their worst, Christians should be at their best. We saw glimpses of this in China. Christians facing state-sponsored persecution are out in the streets giving out masks and sharing the love of Christ with their non-believing neighbours. That behaviour comes from knowing that this world belongs to God, and that He is able to wipe away every tear from our eyes. The government is advising hospitals to carry video-based patient consultations, and is moving towards the ‘delay - second stage’ to slow the spread of the virus. Pray that their precautions are successful, and that no further action ‘stages’ will be needed. 

On 15 February WHO prioritised support for thirteen African countries whose fragile health systems are already overwhelmed. It is critical to detect coronavirus early to prevent spreading within communities without the treatment capacity. Since 3 February African countries have been receiving technical guidance and advice on how to limit human-to-human transmission, so that they isolate and provide appropriate treatment to affected people. An Africa task force has been working with the WHO, screening points of entry, controlling in health-care facilities, advising on infection prevention and clinical management of people, laboratory diagnosis and community engagement. On 5 March five African countries had coronavirus - Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Senegal, and Algeria. See

The Archdeacon of London has published guidance to priests about taking precautions in the light of the spread of coronavirus, principally in terms of the risks of infection arising from administering Holy Communion. Pray for God to give wisdom to churches until the infection risk is over. After a coronavirus case emerged in London, doctors there warned that the London Underground could be a hotbed for spreading the disease across the city’s extensive transport links. After a patient in isolation at Arrowe Park Hospital tried to leave, police have now been given the power to seize people in danger of spreading coronavirus and force them into isolation in handcuffs. The World Health Organisation said that the measurement of the coronavirus outbreak could be ‘the tip of the iceberg', as thousands of cases might be undetected.