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Churches applying for overnight prayers and those who congregate in classrooms would not be given permission.

The Lusaka City Council (LCC) made this clear when it received 268 applications for public gatherings as of yesterday.

Out the 268 applications, 240 were from churches, 23 for weddings, two from golf clubs and three for funeral gatherings.

And so far 24 churches, golf clubs and funerals have been cleared. LCC public relations manager George Sichimba however disclosed that, Public Health Inspectors were in the field checking the suitability of the remaining 216 churches and 23 wedding venues.

Mr Sichimba, however said churches would also not be allowed to conduct more than one service because to disinfect objects such as chairs and tables was not easy to do between services.

“For overnight prayers, it is difficult to monitor compliance with public health guidelines while classrooms are too small for observance of social distancing of at least one metre apart,” he said.

And Mr Sichimba said that however, Public Health Inspectors were doing everything possible and by the end of today, all applicants would have received their results.

He said a mere application did not mean that they have been cleared but they should instead wait for results to know whether or not they have been cleared. He stated that a team of Public Health, Zambia Police and council Police would be going round to monitor compliance.