New rules for Phase One reopening of places of worship – Bishop Muheria

The interfaith council on the national response to the coronavirus pandemic has announced new rules for phased reopening of worship places.

During a Press conference on Tuesday, Archbishop Antony Muheria said in the last three weeks the council visited all 47 counties and met with COVID-19 response groups.

“We have reviewed the level of compliance in phase one, and we are convinced that we can follow all requirements. We therefore, decided to begin phase one on Tuesday 18, 2020,” he said.

Archbishop Muheria who is the interfaith council chairperson, said in the the Phase One guidelines time allocated for worship is now 90 minutes.

In addition, age of congregants allowed in places of worship is between 6-65 years.

“We however urge all elderly, sick and other conditions to worship at home,” the Bishop said.

He however lamented over flouting of COVID-19 guidelines at funerals saying only 10% are following the rules.

The council chairman reiterated that only 100 people should attend a funeral and only 15 should be allowed around the graveside.

He further noted that there should be no sharing of food during funerals and the ceremony should take only one hour.

Bishop Muheria also criticized political leaders urging them not put Kenyans at the mercy of COVID-19 by planning gatherings.

“We call upon the interfaith committee in county level to push for adhere to strict guidelines,” he said.

He further noted that young people can be an avenue of spreading the virus and called on them to also comply to COVID-19 guidelines.