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President Mnangagwa yesterday led the nation in praying and fasting to seek God’s mercy, wisdom and healing as the national fight against the Covid-19 pandemic intensifies.

The first local case was reported on March 20 and by last night, the country had 387 confirmed cases of Covid-19, including 54 recoveries and four deaths.

We are grateful that the Lord has kept the national caseload at a low level that local health facilities have managed to handle. In addition, we are grateful that the Lord has not allowed the most virulent strain of the coronavirus to hit us. As a result, Covid-19 Chief Coordinator in the Office of the President and Cabinet Dr Agnes Mahomva told Zimpapers radio division on Thursday, most of the cases confirmed locally and in most of Africa are mild, with the bulk of the people who have tested positive showing no sign or symptom of the disease.

We find it hard to imagine how our health service, stretched already by Western sanctions, was going to cope if the strain that is wreaking havoc in far wealthier Europe, North America and South America had been here.

Indeed, it is by God’s grace that our country and other African countries are likely to be protected from the worst of Covid-19. We are not out of the woods yet, but we have the faith that we have the Lord’s protection and mercy to pull through the pandemic without incurring much damage.

Yesterday was a critical moment for our country; a moment that we as a nation prayed and fasted for God’s mercy, protection, help and healing against the devastating infection. It was also a moment that we expressed our most profound thanks to God for the mercy, protection and grace he has demonstrated on us since the first Covid-19 case was reported 88 days ago. Without His mercy, protection and grace it could have been far worse. Therefore, yesterday we thanked God for what he has already done for our nation and thanked Him in advance for what he will do for our nation as we fight against the disease.

It was gratifying that citizens rose in their numbers and various denominations in accordance to what the President urged them to do on Thursday.

The national leadership needs God’s wisdom to be able to take the right decisions at the right moment as the country navigates its way through this challenge. It has to be stated, however, that the first wise decision that the leadership made was to lock down the nation before cases started rising. China had done that weeks earlier than us when it locked down some provinces including Hubei, the province where the first case on the globe was reported. Much of the Chinese success in tackling Covid-19 is attributable to the swiftness with which they imposed travel restrictions and the steadfastness with which the restrictions were enforced and followed.

Contrarily, we have seen how the disease has ravaged nations that delayed imposing lockdowns, among them Italy and the US.

As we move forward, our national leadership needs more of God’s wisdom with regards to more decisions that they will have to make. On this we are particularly keen to assert that the recent easing of the lockdown must be handled with much wisdom so that whatever easing there will be doesn’t result in a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases. Among the critical areas is the opening of schools that must be handled with much divine wisdom so that the learning institutions don’t become epicentres of infections as quarantine centres have become lately.

Also, the national leadership needs God’s wisdom in handling the post-lockdown situation economically. Wise decisions need to be taken at Government and private sector level to begin to heal the economy. Yes the economy must heal, but not at the expense of public health. To be able to balance both sides, the Government and various economic sectors will need God’s wisdom and grace.

Regarding healing, those who are infected by the coronavirus need God to facilitate that for them. We have been told of the psychological trauma that one feels the moment they are told that they are coronavirus positive. Because the disease is killing hundreds of thousands even in the developed North and because there is no treatment for it yet, a positive test is intensely traumatising. So those who are infected need to heal not only physically but also psychologically.

The healing that we beseech God to give liberally must too be on the four local families that have lost their loved ones to Covid-19.

As we continue praying and fasting for God’s mercy, wisdom, grace and protection against the disease, we need not forget to regularly wash our hands with soap and clean water or to sanitise them and to stay at home if we don’t have a pressing reason to be outdoors. On the few times we go out, let’s not forget to always wear appropriately-made face masks appropriately and to keep ourselves at least a metre away from strangers.