On December 30, former Health Minister, Chitalu Chilufya, confirmed the increase in new positive cases and fatalities as part of the second wave of the pandemic in the country.
There have been at least 51,624 reported cases of the coronavirus, 728 deaths and 44,133 recoveries in the Southern African nation.
Acknowledging the severity of the second wave of the coronavirus, the Church leaders say the deaths of Zambians, including Bishop Moses Hamungole of Monze Diocese, members of the Clergy and Religious men and women, is a reminder that “COVID-19 is Real, Serious and Deadly.”
“The dire situation in which we are living requires an urgent and decisive pastoral response at both the personal and communal levels,” the Bishops say in the statement signed by all ZCCB members.
Aware that the Clergy and Religious people in the country face “extremely high” levels of exposure in their pastoral work, the Bishops urge caution saying, “Act responsibly always and everywhere as our brother and our sister's keeper.”
“We ask you to critically think about protecting yourselves and others,” they say, adding that all Pastoral Agents need to “be extra vigilant and judiciously follow and enforce the COVID-19 regulations in your communities, parishes, institutions and pastoral programmes.”
The ZCCB members encourage pastoral workers to not only go for early testing in view of knowing their status, but to also go for testing periodically.
“When you test positive of COVID-19 and become symptomatic, we strongly urge you to seek medical attention in good time,” the Catholic Bishops in Zambia appeal.
They further urge members of the Clergy, Religious men and women and Catechists to continue providing the necessary pastoral care to the people of God while strictly adhering to the COVID-19 guidelines and employing online platforms where necessary.
“We also commend continued prayer and counselling to those who are infected and affected,” they further say and call upon the local authorities to ensure that measures against the spread of COVID-19 are adhered to in public places.
