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Director of Health Promotion at the Ghana Health Service, Dr Aboagye Dacosta has showered praises on the religious bodies, being the churches and the mosques for showing maturity right from the beginning of the restrictions imposed on their activities.

“They have shown maturity in this Covid-19 fight. From the time the churches and mosques were closed to now that they are operating under instructions, they have helped the government by complying with every step of the way”, he applauded.

Speaking to the host of Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, Dr Aboagye Dacosta recollected that some of the churches and the mosques donated some food items to the vulnerable people during the partial lockdown period as well as giving veronica buckets to some health facilities to help in the fight against the novel virus.

“Some of the churches and the mosques donated to food items to the vulnerable people in the locked areas as well as giving veronica buckets to health facilities and so we as Ghana Health Service and the government appreciate all of them in this fight against Covid-19 but it is not over yet”, he lauded.

He intimated that they have engaged most of the pastors to run a commercial to educate their congregants and Ghanaians at large on Covid-19; disclosing that the Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health will soon bring their messages out for Ghanaians to see their contributions in the fight against the virus.

Touching on the alleviation of the restrictions on the activities of the religious bodies, Dr Aboagye Dacosta said that social distancing is not negotiable in churches and in mosques even though they are allowed to take more than 100 congregants.

“The other safety protocols like washing of hands and the use of hand sanitizers are still in place and the length of time for the service has moved from one hour to two hours”, he mentioned.

To him, the responsibility therefore lies on the pastors and the church leaders to make sure that they will continue to enforce those protocols so that there will be no bad news from the churches; praying that they will continue to comply with the safety protocols without recording any case,

“The churches must have a Covid-19 team led a professional nurse in the church and the ushers must insist on people adhering to the measures in place. Churches and mosques are law-abiding institutions”, he added.