Zimbabwe’s Bishop Mutendi mulls mandatory vaccination for church members

The leader of the Zion Christian Church Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi today told church members that no member will be allowed to attend church conferences if they are not vaccinated against the coronavirus once lockdown restrictions are relaxed and people are allowed to hold such meetings.

The Zion Christian Church is one of the oldest indigenous Christian churches in Zimbabwe.

Speaking in a live broadcast he said that obligatory vaccination was being considered as every church member was a frontline worker with a duty to spread the word of God to the world.

This was Bishop Mutendi’s 247th broadcast since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Zimbabwe in March last year.

While vaccination is voluntary, Bishop Mutendi said anyone who wanted to attend conferences without being vaccinated was like a thief who was out to steal, kill and destroy as stated in John 10:10.

Coronavirus had killed 3 421 people in Zimbabwe by yesterday. It has infected 105 656 people, though 73 394 have recovered.

The country still has 28 841 active cases, with Harare having the highest number.

July has been the worst month since the outbreak with 55 792 cases up to yesterday, more cases than during the entire period from March last year to the end of June.

A total of 1 632 people have died so far this month compared with 1 789 in the fifteen months from March last year to June this year.

Zimbabwe has launched a massive vaccination exercise in which it is aiming to vaccinate 10 million people by the end of the year to attain herd immunity.

It has already acquired more than six million vaccine doses of 12 million it has paid for, with an additional six million expected to make it 18 million doses for the country.

By yesterday almost 1.6 million people had received the first dose and 730 378, the required two doses.

Bishop Mutendi was one of the first church leaders in the country to be vaccinated and insists that people must continue to take all protective measures even after being vaccinated. –ZCCMbungo.org

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