Christians too must obey the law, says health educator
Published:Wednesday | March 10, 2021 | 12:06 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Charmin McKoy, the regional health educator at the South East Regional Health Authority, says that Christians who are defying the COVID-19 safety regulations, claiming they are “covered under the blood”, must set an example by obeying the law.
“We know that rules were mentioned in the Bible, and as Christians, we should obey rules, so I am not in agreement with that statement about ‘covered under the blood’,” said McKoy, while addressing an online Zoom presentation on COVID-19 safety measures and vaccine sensitisation, hosted by the Washington Gardens Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kingston. “As Christians, we should set examples, and we should conform to the laws of the land.”
“We cannot live by chance. Remember that God helps those who help themselves, so if we try to protect ourselves, God will help us too, and so we cannot just leave ourselves to chance,” added McKoy.
McKoy’s remarks came amid social media reports of resistance to the latest COVID-19 prevention measure announced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on February 28. Those new measures include the limiting of church services to online platforms, halting of funeral services and limiting of weddings to no more than 25 people, and restriction of public gatherings to 10 people.
PUSHBACK FROM MOURNERS
The guidelines have been met with pushback from some mourners seeking to bury their deceased loved ones. Some persons have been pressuring religious leaders to disregard the ban.
Earlier this month, the police arrested and charged Christine McLean, pastor of the City of Refuge Endtime Prophetic Ministries in Windsor Heights, St Ann’s Bay, for breaching the Disaster Risk Management Act after she was found overseeing a worship service with more than 50 congregants.
During Sunday’s Zoom virtual meeting, McKoy noted that there has been a growing complacency among the population with regard to obeying the COVID-19 protocols, compared to March 2020 when the pandemic was new to Jamaica.
“I know that in the beginning we were very cautious, but persons have become complacent with the spread of the virus in recent times,” said McCoy. “You will see persons on the street not wearing masks, or not wearing them correctly, and so we have to go back to where we were and to be more cautious.”
“I understand persons are really getting tired, and maybe they need to get some kind of mental help as it relates to the stress during this COVID-19 season, but we have to still bring into consideration the reason why we are wearing the masks,” added McKoy.