Duncan-Williams declares 30 days of prayer over COVID-19 outbreak

The General Overseer of the Action Chapel International, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams has declared 30 days of prayer for the country following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Speaking in a broadcast to his church members and the general public, Archbishop Duncan-Williams also announced that his church welcomes the decision by President Nana Akufo-Addo to ban all public gathering activities including church services.

He added that all church services have been moved to social media for the time being.

Archbishop Duncan-Williams disclosed that together with other senior Pastors of his church, he will be praying for the nation every 3 hours to “vanquish the powers behind the coronavirus”.

He was optimistic that after the 30-day prayer marathon, Ghana will return to normalcy.

He admonished all and sundry to keep their faith in God in a time he describes as “perilous times”.

Quoting from II Timothy 3:1 of the Bible to back his claim, Duncan-Williams said:

“As a result of the proclamation and address by the President concerning the coronavirus, it has been declared that for the next four weeks, there will be no public gatherings and I have instructed all Action Chapel affiliate churches in Ghana to suspend all services and run all our services on social media. I will by God’s grace be addressing you every day.”

“I have also declared 30 days of prayer–6 am, 9 am, 12 noon, 3 pm, 6 pm, 9 pm and 12 midnight [for] myself and Bishop Obodai and the rest of the pastors…Within these 30 days, we will be praying to vanquish the power behind this plague, [and] pestilence that it will leave our shores [so] that there will be no loss of lives,” the revered preacher said.

While advising the public and church members to stick to the precautionary measures, Duncan-Williams also called on Christians to have faith in God in such trying times.

He further advised individuals to desist from creating situations of fear and panic in society.

“Don’t have fear of this virus, take all the necessary precautions, but don’t live in fear, don’t be paranoid…Trust in the Lord like never before, show the enemy that your faith is in God… this is not the end of the world.”

Government bans public gathering 

The government banned all public gatherings including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, church activities and other related events as part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus in the country.

President Nana Akufo-Addo in a national address on Sunday [March 15, 2020] said the ban will be in force for the next four weeks.

“I have decided in the interest of public safety and the protection of our population to review the public gathering advisories earlier announced as follows: Firstly, all public gatherings including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, sporting events and religious activities, such as services in churches and mosques, have been suspended for the next four (4) weeks,” the President said.

He said private burials are allowed but should just be for a few people.

Coronavirus cases in Ghana

As at noon on Sunday, March 15, 2020, six cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in Ghana.

Director of Public Health at Ghana Health Service, Dr Badu Sarkodie who provided updates on the country’s cases on Sunday said all the cases were imported into the country.

The first two cases were confirmed on Thursday, March 12, 2020.

Two other cases were confirmed on Friday, March 13, 2020, while an additional two were confirmed on Saturday, March 14, 2020.

Five of the cases were confirmed in the Greater Accra Region while the remaining one was confirmed in the Ashanti Region.

Health officials have been working to trace persons who have come into contact with the patients and may be at risk of contracting the virus.