The Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) is calling on its member churches to heed the warnings issued by the World Health Organisation on the COVID-19 pandemic.

General Secretary Reverend James Bhagwan has urged that churches postpone large gatherings, meetings and conferences scheduled and to take precautions in the planning of church conferences.

Reverend Bhagwan said: “Free Wesleyan Church in Tonga has cancelled college anniversary celebrations and will make a decision on their annual conference this week.”

The Pacific Conference of Churches had also made a number of recommendations:

• We recommend that welcomers don’t shake hands with people arriving for the service. If welcomers do shake hands, hand sanitizer should be available to both parties.
• Those administering Communion must wash their hands or use hand sanitizer immediately prior to distribution. If the Common Cup (chalice) is used for Communion, only the Minister should receive the wine, and communicants receive Communion in one kind only – the bread.
• If individual glasses are used for wine, the communicant should pick up their own glass rather than servers handing it to them.
• Suspend direct physical contact as part of a blessing or “laying on of hands”.
• Keep church premises well cleaned before and after worship services or other use, paying particular attention to surfaces, seats and door handles.

Other churches and religious bodies are continuing to listen and heed the warnings given by the Ministry of Health, Department of Immigration, the WHO and relevant stakeholders.

According to WHO, there were 132,758 confirmed cases recorded globally as of March 13, 2020 in 122 countries and territories, with 4955 dead so far from the virus. But these numbers are expected rise.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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