Influential Ghanaian cleric, Dr Mensa Otabil, believes the fight against COVID-19 will suffer a major jolt if churches are allowed to assemble to worship.
Churches have a responsibility to protect their members than seeking their interest, Otabil stressed.
The cleric hammered on the need for churches to admonish their members to adhere to strict social distancing protocols and other health tips.
“This is not the time for churches to consider gathering together in assemblies because the crisis before us is not going down,” the preacher said during his virtual church service on Sunday. 
Ghana has recorded 4,263 cases resulting in 22 deaths and 378 recoveries.
Otabil said, “Just when we thought in Ghana we were having control over the situation, we are beginning to realise the virus has a mind of its own. It doesn’t seem to correspond to some of the efforts we are making.
“It may not seem suitable to us but that is the price we pay to make the world a better place.”
A statement on the Ghana Health Service website partly reads, “The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases recorded in Ghana since the 12th of March 2020 is 4,263. There have been 378 recoveries and 22 deaths.
“Between the 7th and 8th May, a total of 251 new cases have been reported with the majority of them from the Greater Accra Region (205 cases representing 82%).”
