Gaborone, 12 May, 2020 / 2:42 am (ACI Africa).
Following the decision by the parliament of the landlocked Southern African nation of Botswana to begin a gradual lifting of the five-week COVID-19 lockdown, a Bishop in the two-diocese country has welcomed the move, terming it “light at the end of the turnel.”
“We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel for the reopening of the churches,” the Bishop of Gaborone diocese, Frank Nubuasah noted in his Saturday, May 9 statement seen by ACI Africa.
Noting that “people have different understanding of the outcome” of the parliamentary discussion to ease restrictions, the Prelate who is a member of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) Missionaries has clarified that churches can reopen from May 21 but under strict guidelines to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
To enforce social distancing, the Ghanaian-born Bishop has informed the faithful that in line with the parliamentary guidelines, the “number of congregants should not exceed 50.”
“Two Masses are permitted per week,” Bishop Nubuasah has directed in the one-page letter and recommended, “I suggest you have one Mass on Friday and on Sunday.”
