AFRICA/KENYA - COVID-19: President Kenyatta proclaims a national day of prayer

Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) - "We cannot ignore the need to turn to God," Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said in an official statement in which he declared Saturday, March 21 a National Day of Prayer, to ask for divine protection from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, while in Kenya a fourth case has been confirmed.
"In these circumstances as we have done in the past as a nation, we have always turned to God first to give thanks for the many blessings that He has bestowed on our nation. But we also turn to God to share our fears, our apprehensions, but also to seek his guidance and ever-present protection", said President Kenyatta in his statement. "We have learnt over time that turning to God in such times gives us not only comfort but also hope and strength to overcome even those challenges that for us as humans may seem insurmountable".
The Saturday prayer day, said the President, who is a Catholic, "will be led by a team of religious leaders at State House, Nairobi starting at 12.00 noon on Saturday".
While the gathering at State House on Saturday will involve select religious leaders in line with the directive to avoid crowds, the President encouraged Kenyans to join the leaders in prayer from wherever they will be and urged the local media to broadcast the spiritual session.
In the meantime, Catholic educational institutions have also taken steps to limit the spread of coronavirus according to the indications of the civil authorities. These include the Catholic University of East Africa (CUEA) and Tangaza University College (TUC) in Nairobi. Both institutions have suspended classroom activities and replaced them with online lessons.
Meanwhile, Kenya has accepted the request of the African Union and the World Health Organization to host the African Center for Disease Prevention and Control (Africa CDC). China has offered to finance the headquarters of the new institute that will make Kenya the regional and continental hub for medical research and the control of infections and pandemics. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 20/3/2020)

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