COVID 19 INTERVENTIONS AND RESPONSE ACROSS ONITSHA ARCHDIOCESE

COVID-19 has become a world pandemic in which businesses, transportation, industries and Corporations have been shut down as a result people are instructed by the government to sit at home and maintain social distancing. Hence, this condition has occasioned suffering and hunger in which children, women and poorest of the poor are affected. To ameliorate this condition, at the instance of the Archbishop, Most Rev. Valerian Okeke, JDPC in collaboration with parish JDPC members and their parish priests carried out humanitarian interventions in the following order.

Church’s response to covid 19 pandemic is to be classified into three major phases – Bishops instruction letters, the enforcement of covid 19 rules and guidelines and palliatives to cushion the effects of covid pandemic.

Bishops instruction letters: Following respective state governments’ instructions and guidelines, the Bishops issued a follow up guidelines to all the Christian faithful in their different dioceses suspending church gatherings, Christian burials, weddings and other religious activities. Catholic faithfuls were enjoined to pray against the spread of corona virus, for the protection of health workers and for the killed by the corona virus.

The Church enforced Covid 19 rules and guidelines of social distancing, use of face mask, provision of buckets, detergents and water tanks in all parishes and offices for hand washing and sanitizers. Free sanitizers were offered by many parishes to their parishioners. Many dioceses reverted to online media and radio Eucharistic celebrations at the peak of the lockdown. Many parishes equally reverted to online evangelism, catechesis and worship.

Provision of palliative measures: The Church’s’ responses under palliative interventions are divided into five phases –centralized interventions, localized interventions, WASH intervention in Onitsha prison, payment of hospital bills and individuals partner with the church