ASIA/BANGLADESH - Prayer and awareness on the coronavirus, while the nation celebrates the "Father of the fatherland"

Tuesday, 17 March 2020 coronavirus   prayer   caritas   healthcare   politics  

Dhaka (Agenzia Fides) - "We are all informed about the coronavirus. The media reported that people from over 70 countries have been infected with the coronavirus. It has become a threat to some countries. On behalf of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB) , we ask priests, nuns and faithful to be aware of the virus and the need for protection for all. We call on everyone to pray the Almighty God to save us from the virus. May Almighty God save humanity in the world from this deadly virus": says an appeal issued by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB), which has asked priests, nuns and faithful, in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, for intense prayers, while the nation celebrates today, March 17, the hundred years of the birth of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder and "Father of the fatherland".
"We pray for the sick, for those who have already been infected with the coronavirus, we pray for them and those who have passed away, so that they may have peace in eternal life", reads the text sent to Agenzia Fides.
A special prayer was raised to God for salvation from the coronavirus during holy masses across the country on Sunday March 15. "In the Holy Mass we prayed, all together, to save humans on earth from the deadly virus. We hope the Lord will hear our prayers", says Subash Rozario, a Catholic in Dhaka, to Fides.
Coronavirus outbreaks have been reported in Bangladesh. The Institute of Epidemiology for Disease Control and Research said on March 15 that 10 people, two of them positive, are being held in isolation in hospitals, while over 2,300 people across the country have been placed under domestic quarantine.
The Catholic Church immediately sensitized the people, said Caritas Bangladesh's health coordinator, dr. Edward Pallab Rozario, who told Agenzia Fides: "We are conducting an awareness program in schools, churches in different parts of the country to inform and protect against coronavirus. We made posters about coronavirus awareness. The Catholic Vhiesa of Bangladesh has taken the matter seriously".
Edward informs that he has sent brochures, posters to over 3000 Caritas staff members, all Catholic priests and lay people across the country, who are involved in coronavirus awareness.
A coronavirus awareness program has been included in the "Smile" project, which also includes meetings in various slums and in the poorest neighborhoods of the cities.
The government of Bangladesh is celebrating the centenary of the birth of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman today, March 17th, considered the "Father of the Fatherland". Due to the risks for the spread of the virus, the celebrations, initially scheduled with large events, have a lesser tone and precautionary measures have been taken. Rahman (Tungipara, 17 March 1920 - Dhaka, 15 August 1975) Bengali politician at the head of the Awami League, also known as "Mujib and Bangabandhu", that is, "friend of Bengal", was a central figure in the movement and in the war of liberation of Bangladesh, which became independent of Pakistan in 1971. He was the country's first president between 1971 and 1972, was then prime minister and died assassinated by a group of Army officers in 1975. (FC) (Agenzia Fides, 17/3/2020)


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