As the virus spreads, pray for everyone to listen to the advice from local authorities, and show care and regard for one another - especially the elderly and most vulnerable. If ever there was a time for prayers and supplications, this is such a time. Let us join together in united prayer as we pray for: governments and local authorities who bear large responsibilities in confronting this challenge; WHO and all professionals working to safeguard public health; industry leaders and all taking precautions and making decisions to confront this challenge; and pastors, church leaders, and community leaders, who provide care and guidance for those they lead. As a global family, this is a time to let the light of Christ shine healing rays throughout the world.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced a $1bn cut in American aid to Afghanistan after he failed to convince President Ghani and his political foe, Abdullah, to end a feud that has jeopardised a US-led peace effort. He said that the US is also prepared to cut another $1bn worth of assistance in 2021, and is conducting ‘a review of all of our programmes and projects to identify additional reductions and reconsider our pledges to future donor conferences for Afghanistan’. The harshly-worded announcement underscored how badly the US-led effort to end decades of strife in Afghanistan has stalled. En route back to Washington, Pompeo stopped at Qatar to meet Taliban officials, including their top negotiator. Pompeo indicated that the aid cut could be cancelled if everyone came to an agreement.

A damning report, prepared last year, has been released. It detailed Israel’s lack of preparation for a major epidemic. A pre-coronavirus scenario in the report (based on an influenza epidemic) expected about 2,250,000 infected residents (25% of the population) with an increase in morbidity spread over eight weeks, about 150,000 more hospitalised, 25,000 in intensive care, and 12,500 needing ventilation. The report stated that the health system was greatly burdened all year round, with many departments overcrowded, and there was a shortage of ICUs. Now there is a lack of protective medical gear, and problems with infection testing. Netanyahu said nobody was ready for corona.

The island’s phone-tracking system is an ‘electronic fence’, using existing phone signals to triangulate mobile phone owners’ locations. To ensure users comply, an alert is sent to the authorities if the handset is turned off for more than 15 minutes. More than 6,000 people subjected to home quarantine are monitored this way. Officials phone users up to twice a day to make sure they have their mobile to hand, and to ask about their health. Milo Hsieh is under quarantine. Early on Sunday morning, while he was sleeping, two police officers knocked at his door. His phone had run out of battery; in less than an hour four different administrative units had called. Police were dispatched to check his whereabouts. A text was sent saying that the government had lost track of him, and warning of potential arrest if he had broken quarantine.

Liberty University has 100,000 pupils studying online, with a further 15,000 attending campus in Virginia. It will now allow 5,000 students to return to campus and halls of residence despite the state governor ordering all schools to close until the end of the academic year. An email to students said, ‘All planned international trips have been cancelled, but students should return to campus this week. Liberty University is open and operating normally.’ The majority of lessons will be conducted online, but staff have been instructed to ‘report to work as normal’. According to the university president, on-site pupils have said, ‘Don't send us home to study online; we love it here, we want to stay'. This decision came after President Trump questioned whether public health measures to prevent coronavirus contagion were too strict. Health officials stressed that relaxing them could put more people at risk.

David Marshall, of the Meaningful Chocolate Company, launched the Real Easter Egg ten years ago after discovering that not a single Easter egg mentioned the Christian faith. This startling revelation was the springboard for this egg, which, a decade on, still cuts a lonely figure in the sea of chocolate eggs on supermarket shelves that make no reference whatsoever to the Christian origins of the festival. But the fact that it is still on the shelves isn't something David takes for granted: after all, when the egg was first launched, supermarkets were reluctant to stock it. There is little reference to Jesus or the religious aspect of Easter elsewhere, but David’s company continues to provide faith-based Easter eggs that come with a children's book telling the story of Easter.

The Constantine Bay Store, near Padstow, wants older people to be able to shop ‘exclusively and with confidence’. Each day between 8 and 8.30 am, the shop will open its doors only to those born before 1950. The owner said he hoped it would ‘give them a little bit of peace of mind’ in the fight against coronavirus. Nationwide, Sainsburys are introducing a similar incentive. C3 Church in Cambridge gave out 3,000 ‘Love Your Neighbour’ flyers to its congregation to post through their neighbours’ doors, offering to collect groceries, speak on the phone, or collect a prescription for those who are in self-isolation. Church members fill in their contact details on the flyer so that people can request help. See Neighbourhood Prayer Network have produced ‘Help Cards For Your Street’, which can be downloaded free here

A Baptist blogger recently wrote that in an atmosphere of fear and vulnerability because of COVID-19, we have an unprecedented opportunity to display the goodness of God. But to do that we need to walk in the opposite spirit of what surrounds us. If our peace is a shallow layer over fear, it isn’t enough. On the other hand, if we wait on God and connect until His confidence fills us, then we can carry His presence with us. Fear blunts our thinking, making us inflexible and unfeeling toward others. In contrast, with a heart at rest, we can receive Him and all we need (James 1:5-7). When we connect with God, He pours His love into our hearts (Romans 5:5). Then, even if we are surrounded by an atmosphere of self-interest, we can walk in the opposite spirit, looking for ways to bless others.

Many people over 70, pregnant women, and those with underlying health conditions are now in voluntary lockdown, taking personal responsibility to stay away from potential infection. Continue to pray for their protection and peace of mind. The nation should avoid gatherings and crowded places, including pubs, clubs, theatres, underground and even the workplace if they can work from home. Pray for a calm response to these government requests. Most schools are shut ‘to reduce social contact throughout society’. Children of ‘key workers’ and those who receive free meals or depend on school for food and security will be catered for in some classrooms with a skeleton staff. Pray for any ‘anomalies’ in these provisions to be speedily resolved, for example teachers who are parents with school children at home. Pray for wise government strategies and for parents presented with childcare issues. Some stay-at-home parents will struggle financially. May government provisions be adequate for these and other vulnerable groups.

What will life be like for the over-70s in self-isolation in the countryside? When Carol, aged 70, heard on 15 March that she could be stuck indoors for the long haul, she took the first bus of the day four miles into Bridport to buy supplies. ‘I was the only person on the bus and when I got to the shops some shelves were bare. I tried to book a Tesco delivery but there were no slots until 4 April.’ Her story is repeated across the country. Elizabeth Harley, a lay preacher at the Chapel in the Garden in Bridport, runs a community fridge which distributed four tonnes of surplus food to people in need last year, but gifts to her project are now scarce. However, thanks to a coronavirus community support Facebook page, Carol has received many encouraging offers of help.