Science-led church, prayer can beat Covid – Museveni 

President Museveni has said prayers alone won’t help to beat the recent surge in Covid-19 infections and deaths now ravaging the country.
Mr Museveni, who was speaking on Friday during a televised 4th national prayer sessions to stem the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, said: “There is an issue here – refusing to do our mandate and only praying?

The President then counselled: “This virus is avoidable. But if we don’t do what we are supposed to do, then, we cannot only say, pray, pray and no effort. I reject the idea of making mistakes and then come and pray. I am not part of that. I believe in a Science-led church because science is the study of the power of God.”

Mr Museveni warned that one of the factors contributing to the increasing infections and deaths from Covid-19 in the country are people failing to follow the well-laid down stringent standard operating procedures (SOPs). 
“We knew quickly how this virus behaves and we told everybody, but people don’t listen. Whatever a man sows is what he reaps,” the President said. 

In her remarks, Dr Ruth Aceng, the Health minister, who was one of the few guests invited to the ‘scientific’ prayer held at State House Entebbe, said the country was doing all it could to treat and protect its people.
“Government is committed towards vaccinating 21.9 million eligible Ugandans but more urgently the 4.8 million high-risk individuals,” she said. 

“Despite delays brought about by global factors beyond our control, we are doing everything we can to ensure that the country gets all the vaccines, in addition to the 1,139,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine secured by the country so far. In the interim, the country is expecting two more modest consignments of 688,800 doses and 285,600 doses in the first week of July and mid-July,” she added.
The prayer session was attended by leaders of various religious denominations, with some accessing by Zoom. 

Among those who attended in person were Joseph Serwadda, the presiding Apostle of Born-again Christians in Uganda, Ankole Diocese bishop Fred Sheldon Mwesigwa, Ramadhan Mubaje, the Grand Mufti of Uganda, Orthodox Archbishop Metropolitan Jonah Lwanga, and Stephen Kazimba Mugalu, the Archisbishop of the Province of the Church of Uganda, among others. 
The clerics based their teachings on faith and hope as the country battles the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.