Published 13:26 IST, April 1st 2020
Coronavirus: Australia PM Morrison prays from his parliamentary office during crisis
PM Morrison urged the people to stay “strong and united” during the coronavirus outbreak, and described the pandemic as the “time of need and great suffering”.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison participated in an online coronavirus prayer group from his parliamentary office to ‘pray’ for his country. He urged the people to stay “strong and united” during the coronavirus outbreak, and described the pandemic as the “time of need and great suffering”. In the clip published by a news outlet, later removed, PM Morrison could be heard saying that people must stand with and pray for the premiers and chief ministers in the national cabinet, as per media reports.
Participating in the live-streamed prayer group, the PM recited several Bible verses and prayed for the wellbeing of the Australians, and wished for the streets under lockdown to be restored to normalcy soon. According to media reports, PM Morrison was heard saying that his faith nourished him with encouragement and he could make “best decisions” in the nation’s interest to combat the deadly COVID-19 disease.
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4,862 COVID-19 cases
PM Morrison was heard in the video as saying, “I pray that we will be a restorer of streets, with people in them, businesses open again, Australians going about their lives again, returning to their jobs, returning to their livelihoods, returning to normal times in our schools so children can learn and that we can get to the other side of this.”
As many as 4,862 have been infected with COVID-19 disease in Australia caused by the deadly coronavirus. Over 21 have lost lives to the battle. The Health Minister of Australia, Greg Hunt, said in a televised news conference that there was a decline which was noticed in the growth of cases by 25 to 30 per cent over the last week, an average of 9 per cent for the past three consecutive days in COVID-19 cases in the country. He, however, maintained that despite the declining trend people have to be complacent with the lockdown protocols.
Updated 13:17 IST, April 1st 2020