COVID-devil!

By Dele Adeoluwa

It is unthinkable how a tiny thing like a virus, invisible except with the aid of a microscope, could so hold the whole world by the jugular. The decibel of boisterous life suddenly came to a halt at the instance of the corona morass. Virtually every facet of life is lying prostrate. Tiny but mighty corona has suddenly become a god of a sort, before whom even the bravest fears to tread. The world economy totters. Social life has been strictured. So, night life has slid into a dreary drone in a fun-loving, ‘happy’ clime!

Even the dead groan. They now go home without airs. Their rites of passage have become a drab, hollow ritual, shorn of the fun-fare that normally heralds their final journey in these shores.

Everything is now cloaked in fear: fear of dying; fear of burying the dead; fear of associating; fear of exchanging handshake (it is now an elbow-to-elbow show); fear of travelling, either by road or air; fear of partying. Fear now rules the waves. Everybody is cowed in morbid sangfroid!

Oh COVID-devil! It has no deference even for our hallowed sanctums – worship centres. It has ensured that those reverent havens are also locked down with the rest of the secular world. So, those otherwise bubbling enclaves are now as tranquil as the graveyard safe some skeletal activities put in place to keep things afloat.

Oh, how I miss church; I mean the weekly Sunday services. Of course, like others, I connect online for those services, but I sorely miss the exhilaration that accompanies being “on ground.” It is the tourism expedition I miss most. For good measure, our church – Living Faith Church Worldwide – is a study in tourism delight. The star attraction that welcomes a first-time visitor is the famed, sprawling 50,000-capacity edifice. It announces its bold presence with its sheer magnificence, with the cone sitting atop of it like   an ethereal crown. The precincts, swathed in lush greenness, much like a holiday resort, are a salubrious splendour that enthralls. I miss all that!

However, the issue of whether or not to reopen the worship centres has been mired in arguments and counter-arguments. Some states have caved in to the pro-reopening agitators and lifted the ban placed on those worship centres. But other states are circumspect; they are yet to toe the line. And their fear remains that those centres may not be able to manage the gush of worshippers that will besiege them vis-à-vis the regime of protocols and guidelines put in place to ensure safety.

Lagos State, for instance, had earlier announced the lifting of the ban on churches and mosques in the state with effect from last Friday, for the mosques, and last Sunday, for the churches. But Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu made a U-turn a few days to the reopening and announced the suspension of the lifting of the ban. He hinged the decision on the rising cases of COVID-19 in the state that has been the epicenter of the pandemic.

“Dear Lagosians,” the governor said, “in the most recent guidelines, which we issued on the gradual  easing of the lockdown, based on the advice of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, I noted that we would shortly be permitting the restricted opening of religious houses, on the condition of strict compliance with detailed guidelines issued by the Lagos State Safety Commission.

“We have been closely monitoring the situation since then, and we have now concluded that we cannot proceed with any form of reopening of places of worship in Lagos State until further notice.”

Ogun State, which had also planned to lift the ban on all religious centres in the state with effect from last Friday, had to beat a retreat too. Governor Dapo Abiodun attributed the change of mind to the rolling back of the guidelines and precautionary measures against COVID-19 by residents and citizens as well as what he called the “doubling of the infection rate in the state.” He believes religious centres are the most veritable and potent places to spread the dreaded virus, adding that he had to take the painful decision to suspend the lifting of the ban to save lives.

Their excellencies may have taken a cue from the experience of other states – Kwara, Osun and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)- which have reopened the worship centres. It was a gamble that went awry. The laid down protocols and guidelines were alleged to have been breached in those centres. Many kids were allowed into the churches against the rule; many churches also extended their services beyond the one hour permitted, while many worshippers did not use facemasks. The mega churches allowed virtually every member who turned up for services against the rule allowing only 60 per cent of their membership. Only three of the guidelines were followed at most of the churches: provision of water basins for washing of hands; use of temperature measurement before worshippers were allowed in and filling of the attendance registers.

A similar scenario played out during the last Eid-el-Fitri in May. In a flagrant defiance of the advisory from the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Sultan Muhammadu Saad Abubakar that Muslim faithful should observe the prayers at home, some states like Kano, Borno and Yobe went ahead to hold congregational prayers. And predictably, the surging crowds simply spewed out of control. The safety precautions that were put in place in those places – social distancing, wearing of facemasks, washing of hands etc – were virtually observed in the breach in most of the praying grounds.

It is a highly emotive and thorny issue. It is easily discernible why those churches that have been reopened breached the regime of protocols and guidelines put in place. And that is the crux of the matter. In the first place, how do you begin to pick 60 per cent of members in a particular congregation to attend a particular service? I doubt if many of the churches have or maintain a register of members. And in the absence of an up-to-date membership register, how do you pick those who will attend service or will not?

Besides, while children can easily be shut out, it will be difficult to stricture the adults from age 65. In many of the churches, many of the pastors are likely to be from 65 and above. If that is so, who then leads the services if these people are left out?

Again, while many of the mega churches may have the infrastructure and logistics to observe the social distancing rule, it is doubtful if they will be able to take the temperature of their members before they are allowed in. For one, the queues that will ensue will be too unwieldy to manage. The same goes for the provision of water basins and hand sanitisers. Some churches are hundreds of thousands in membership, how many basins and sanitisers will be adequate to cater for the motley?

On the other hand, while most of the smaller churches may be able to easily take the temperature of members and provide basins to wash hands, they may not have the space to observe the very important social distancing rule. This is the issue.

I ordinarily vote for the reopening of those worship centres, but I also tend to reason with the authorities whose fear is the danger of courting community infections, which could spawn the battle to rein in the implacable virus out of control. Everything must be done to avert that, as it could worsen an already intricate matter.