The Nigerian Medical Association [NMA], the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives [NANNM] as well as the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria [PSN] spoke on reopening of worship centres as the country battles coronavirus [COIVID-19] pandemic.

The new President of the NMA, Prof Innocent Ujah, said the government should approach the issue of reopening of worship centres scientifically.

He said the government must sensitise religious groups and other segments of society to ensure compliance with COVID-19 guidelines.

Ujah stated that churches, mosques and others must abide by social distancing and use of face masks.

He stated,

“What have we put on the ground to say they should push back a little bit? I don’t have the answer because I have to have evidence.

“They said there shouldn’t be more than 50 in a church or a mosque. But have we not seen congregation of people everywhere? What about markets?”

“But I have no power to say yes or no. I am only saying we should approach these things scientifically, because it’s science. It’s not about emotions. The National Orientation Agency should also do its job. In this case, in my opinion, the NOA is not doing well. I think it should do more in sensitisation.”

He noted that with the eased lockdown, Nigerians were not abiding by social distancing and the use of face masks.

Ujah stated,

“The issue of face masks and physical distancing is not obeyed or followed. I am a scientist and I’ve even commissioned some boys to look at the compliance on the use of face masks and social distancing.”

On non-compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, Ujah said though burials should be done quietly, people had been sighted crowding around graves.

He stated,

“If you go to Lugbe, Nyanya (Abuja) or a place like Mararaba, Nasarawa State, there is nothing like social distancing. Over 90 per cent do not wear face masks. You have to have water to wash hands. We need to know whether there is universal availability of water to wash hands. That’s the truth.”

But the President of the NANNM, Abdulrafiu Adeniji, said the reopening of churches and mosques should be gradual.

The nurses’ president said,

“In the first instance, they (churches and mosques) are expected to be partners of progress with the government. A religious organisation (in the United States) went to court against the government and it lost. There is no way it could say the government should not try as much as possible to enforce public health law.”

But the General Secretary of the PSN, Emeka Duru, said the important issue regarding reopening churches and mosques was the economic ramifications.

According to him, churches are more ready than other sectors for reopening.

Duru said,

“I think churches, from what I can perceive, are more ready, because they want to continue their activities, and they wouldn’t want the Federal Government interrupting their activities again, so they would try to enforce guidelines.

“For instance, in the Catholic Church, to which I belong, they also tell people not to engage in stretching of hands anymore. I believe that churches, especially the Catholic Church, would decide the number of people that will attend a particular session of mass, so that there would be a reduced number of people.”

He, however, expressed concern about the reopening of what he described as “mushroom churches.”

The PSN secretary-general explained that in such churches, as with any uncontrolled gatherings, “anything can happen, just like the buses we see on the road where everybody is on his own.”

Duru said,

“It is not a matter of being ready. It is a question of if our economy is ready to sustain the present reality we have found ourselves. The Federal Government is a big institution, including provision of security, and it wouldn’t like to be embarrassed as the citizens are opening up the lockdown themselves.”