I love the colours of the rainbow. They are vibrant, cheerful and soothing.
They represent hope and give us a sense of optimism for the future. Singularly the colours probably won’t be as impactful. But together, they can’t be ignored and I believe this gives us a picture of unity, something we need at this difficult time. The rainbow was given as a sign of God’s covenant with man after the great flood in Genesis 9:12-15 NKJV,
“And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I ring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”
I find it fascinating also, that the sign of hope chosen by our children at this time of the Coronavirus pandemic to support and encourage our NHS frontline heroes is the rainbow. You can find them on many windows all around our dwelling places. It’s as if they’re reminding God of His previous covenant and saying, ‘Lord please make another covenant with us and take away this virus, Lord please.’ Truly God ordains praise out of the mouths of the young ones. I firmly believe God will definitely answer if our little ones all raise up their voices and ask Him for a reprieve from this pandemic. Go on children do it for us!
So, even as grim as things look, let’s thank our Lord with hearts and hands and voices. For He alone has done great things. And why not? Well, we only need to remember this verse in the bible and we will – – II Chronicles 7:14 NKJV,
“if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
What promise and reassurance this passage gives. So there we have it, ‘if we will, He can and He will.’ The eternal God is our refuge and underneath us are His everlasting arms. I’m sure by now you know what’s coming next. Oh yes, our weekly reminder. We probably know them all by heart now but hey, it won’t hurt to go through them again.
Practical advice on prevention of COVID-19 infection
1. Wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20
seconds. Use hand sanitiser gel if soap is not available.
2. Avoid touching your face.
3. Always wash your hands when you get home or into work
4. If driving, wipe the door handles and steering wheel with a sanitising gel before and after driving.
5. For those working with patients, take your shoes off at the door before entering your house on returning from work and take off your clothes on entering. Wash them and take a shower. Leave your shoes preferably in a box in the hallway to prevent cross-contamination.
6. When you go shopping leave all your shopping in the bag on the floor and wipe all packaging if possible with a sanitiser. Wash all fresh produce with water before refrigeration. If possible take off the outer packaging of foods and re-bag them in sealable bags.
7. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze.
8. Put used tissues in the bin straight away and wash your hands afterwards.
9. Try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell.
10. Avoid handshakes.
11. Maintain a safe distance from others when out and about (at least 2
metres).
12. Avoid large social gatherings – these are temporarily banned under the lockdown and social distancing rule anyway.
13. Stay at home unless you are going out to shop for food or you are an essential service worker or you have an emergency like visiting your doctor or going to the hospital.
14. All elderly people 70 years and above and those with chronic medical conditions are well-advised to stay at home and avoid social contacts as much as possible (referred to as shielding)
15. The use of face masks is now advised on all public transport in London (Mayoral decree). The UK government advice is to wear a face-covering which is one that can be made from a scarf, bandana or even an old T-shirt rather than a face mask. The reasoning behind this is that advising the public to wear face masks might deplete the supply available for the NHS.
Remember surgical masks if worn are disposable and should be discarded after a single-use. Also, any face mask or face covering MUST cover the nose and mouth to be effective. Please see below the evidence of the effectiveness of wearing a face mask or face covering:
16. Lastly, if you experience symptoms please seek medical advice early.
Above all, keep clapping for and supporting our frontline heroes. Please stay at home, keep safe, keep well and God bless.
Probability of Covid19 transmission with or without a face mask or face covering
