Archbishop Duncan Williams made the statement during a Sunday service sermon at a time when Ghana had not yet recorded an infection in the country.
Read the full article as first published by classfmonline.com below:
The coronavirus outbreak is a conspiracy against humanity, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams of Ghana’s Action Chapel International (ACI) has said.
There are currently 42,991 active cases of coronavirus worldwide, out of the total 85,721 cases recorded in 61 countries with 35,173 (82%) of them in mild condition while 7,818 (18%) are in serious or critical condition, according to the latest figures compiled by worldometers.
Meanwhile, 42,730 of the cases are inactive or closed now. Out of the total closed cases, 39,792 (93%) recovered fully and got discharged from the hospital while 2.933 (7%) died.
In Africa, Algeria, Egypt and Ghana’s neighbour Nigeria, have recoded cases sparking fears it could soon enter Ghana.
On Friday, 28 February 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the spread of the virus is "getting bigger".
In his second sermon on Sunday, 1 March 2020, Archbishop Duncan-Williams said: “You know, this virus going around from China and all over the place, I believe that it’s a demonic conspiracy against humanity. Yea”.
“Something that has no cure suddenly appears from where? It came from somewhere; things don’t just happen. Are you hearing me somebody? It’s a conspiracy against humanity, and by the power of Jesus’ name, we lift up a standard against”, he told the congregation.
He said the church intends fasting and praying against the disease from entering Ghana.
“As we proclaim our 72-hour fast, from tomorrow; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, we need to pray and place a divine embargo on this virus-like we did to Ebola. That it’ll not come to our shores, that it will die on board, that it will not advance any further in the name of Jesus”, he declared.
To his critics, he said: “You can think something is wrong with me, but it’s a matter of faith, it’s a matter of my belief. I believe that God answers prayers, I believe that this virus will not prevail and advance any further. If you believe it, put your hands together and shout ‘yea’”, he urged the congregation, adding: “It’s evil, it’s a plague, it’s an epidemic”.
“In Psalm 91 verse 10, the Bible said: ‘There shall no evil befall me, neither shall any plague come nigh your dwelling’. I believe this virus will not befall anyone of us, it shall not befall our children or our household or our loved ones in their going out and their coming in; it’s a plague, it shall not come near our dwelling. By the power of Jesus’ name, we vanquish it in the name of Jesus”, he prayed.
Founder of Action Chapel International (ACI), Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams