Monday, August 11, 2014

Ebola fears halt use of common communion cup in Nigeria


The Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in Nigeria have suspended the exchange of peace and the common cup during Eucharist services in order to halt the spread of the Ebola virus.

Approximately 1800 cases of the deadly virus have been reported in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria since doctors identified the first case, a two year old girl in Guinea. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reports 961 deaths as of 8 August 2014.

The disease jumped to Nigeria last week after an American citizen infected with the virus flew to Lagos from Liberia. Nigerian health officials report ten of the seventy people with whom he came into contact have been infected – and he and his nurse subsequently died. On 8 Aug 2014 President Goodluck Jonathan declared a public health state of emergency, while Guinea closed its borders with Sierra Leone and Liberia to halt the spread of the disease. Read more

See also
Ebola: We don’t shake hands during services anymore — Churchgoers
West Africans fill churches to pray for deliverance from 'devil' Ebola

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