Firebrand pastor refuses to mask up against COVID

Controversial St Ann pastor, Peter Chambers, said that he is not afraid of COVID-19, and even claims to have cured people who have been afflicted by the virus.

"Your faith will make you whole. I have not worn a mask from last year in my church. None of my members (have worn mask) and none of them have contracted the virus, none of them! Not even the visitors who come," Chambers said.

"People are wearing masks and they're dying. They're taking the vaccine and people are dying. I serve a true and living God that can protect us from the pestilence the pandemic, the coronavirus, the Delta variant. Listen, I don't have to prove that to anybody. I've gone into many homes that people have contracted the disease, prayed for them and they get healing. But they don't want this news, they want to drive fear in us because they want to control the nation," Chambers said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the USA said that masks are simple barriers to help prevent the respiratory droplets of one person reaching others.

"COVID-19 spreads mainly from person to person through respiratory droplets. Respiratory droplets travel into the air when you cough, sneeze, talk, shout, or sing. These droplets can then land in the mouths or noses of people who are near you or they may breathe these droplets in," the CDC said.

Meanwhile, Chambers, whose sermons have been spreading like wildfire via social media, said that his popularity has soared since his arrest by the police in March.

Chambers, who was taken into custody on March 24 by a team from the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch, said his popularity has grown since his arrest.

His detention followed his social media campaign against Prime Minister Andrew Holness in light of measures implemented to curtail the spread of COVID-19, which include lockdowns and restrictions on gatherings for religious services.

Chambers was never charged for any offence. However, it is understood that the director of public prosecutions, Paula Llewellyn, is awaiting the completion of a police report to decide whether he will be brought before the courts.

"It has only affected my life positively. I have become one of the most famous men on earth, well known globally. And my ministry has gone to another level," Chambers told THE WEEKEND STAR.

"Most people inquiring about my ministry, they want to be a part of my ministry since I was locked up. After I came back, people wanted to invest in my ministry. The fame has increased all over Jamaica. When I walk in the streets, people hail me as Martin Luther King," Chambers said.

The firebrand clergyman has slammed the Holness administration for what he described as "evil strategies" that are being put in place to stymie the work of the church. He has also declared that he is not prepared to keep quiet about the measures being used by the Government to limit the spread of COVID-19. He told THE WEEKEND STAR that his stance has earned him detractors who want to see him dead. He claims to have received numerous death threats since his first video was released last year.

"I am not afraid to die. From the beginning the police, they asked me why am I sacrificing my life like this. I said, 'Listen, Jesus died for me, so it is easy for me to give my life for Him'."

Among the measures now in place to limit the spread of COVID-19 is the requirement for people to wear masks. There is also a nightly curfew that begins at 7 p.m., and consecutive three-day lockdowns that start on Saturday evenings and end on Wednesday mornings. Gatherings in places of worship have also been restricted. No more then 10 persons are allowed in these sanctuaries on lockdown days, and they must have a letter of authorisation to be outside of their homes.

Holness said that the measures are not intended to deprive anyone of their right to worship. "It is just necessary for the management of the pandemic," the prime minister said.

However, Chambers does not buy it.

"From day one I was never with it," he said. "Everyone who knows me know I preach it. When the police came for me, they said it. The measures they are putting in place are not working and people are dying," Chambers said. And he does not stop there.

"I am not in agreement with the vaccination because the vaccination is killing a lot of people. I am one of those pastors that is on the ground and people call me on a daily basis. Since the lockdown we have more deaths of people in Jamaica. It is not being revealed on the media, why? Because the media is being manipulated by the Government, and I'm not telling a lie! Everybody knows that but they are afraid of the 'Brogad'," Chambers claimed.