Churches not allowed to conduct night vigils or processions during Easter

The Interfaith Council is calling upon places of worship to strictly comply with the set safety guidelines.

In a statement, the council said it has noted the surge in Covid-19 cases in the country and therefore, the Council’s Chairperson Archbishop Antony Muheria said that churches will not be allowed to conduct night vigils or processions during Easter as a way of combating the spread of the virus among congregants.

“In a special way, during the forthcoming weeks when several faith traditions have solemn periods, all gatherings must adhere to these guidelines and no processions or night vigil services are allowed,” he said.

He also said that those over 65 years should continue to worship from home due to the high danger of death the infection would place them in.

“We continue encouraging the elderly over 65 years to worship from home due to the high danger of death the infection would place them in. It is out of concern for them that we give this advice,” he said

Muheria said places of worship must strictly follow and demand compliance to the social distancing of 1.5m within the places of Worship.

This will comply with the one-third capacity of places of worship.

“All windows and doors should remain open for good circulation. Where possible, it is preferable to have services in the open air,” he said.

He added that wherever possible the temperature of attendants should be checked and those with temperatures above 37.5 C referred to a medical facility.

“All physical contact must be avoided in places of worship, and regular sanitization of microphones or objects used by more than one person done frequently,” he said in a statemen

Council also prohibited serving of food in funerals terming it as a super spreader activity.

“No food should be served in funerals. We wish to emphasize this because it is when people remove their masks to eat, that the risk is highest, since we disregard social distancing while serving and when eating,” Muheria stated

The council expressed optimism on the roll out of Covid-19 vaccines and called upon the Ministry of Health as well as religious leaders to sensitize Kenyans on the need to take the jab.

“We still urge the Ministry of Health to continue giving as much information on the vaccine as possible, as well as address any doubts raised by the public. Nevertheless we urge religious leaders to encourage our people, especially the elderly, to take this second shield of protection by going to be vaccinated,” Muheria said.