We are thankful to God that, at the time of writing, the pandemic has not affected Madagascar as severely as many other countries. There are various theories as to why that is, but we can certainly see God's mercy in answer to our prayers. We pray that God would continue to show mercy to this nation and its people, for protection from COVID-19 and for the light of the gospel to shine through during this time.

Despite the numbers of reported cases and deaths being relatively low compared with many places, the impact of this pandemic has certainly been felt across the nation, in the hospital here and in our lives. Like most countries we have experienced stay at home orders, curfews, movement restrictions, school closures and limits on gatherings. Lots of these restrictions are starting to be lifted but the economic impact for many has been significant. Here at the hospital we have had a small number of staff contract the virus, including Hilde, our missionary team leader. We are thankful for many answered prayers - no-one has been seriously unwell and the virus has not spread rapidly amongst our staff, meaning all the hospital services have continued to run as usual. However, there have been significant challenges as we have sought to establish practices and procedures to limit the spread of the virus and we are thankful for God's help at each step.

We are not sure what the coming weeks and months will bring - whether relaxation of restrictions will bring about increasing numbers of cases or whether a local "peak" is yet to come.

Please do continue to pray for protection for the hospital and its staff. We continue to pray that the Good News Hospital would be able to keep on fulfilling the vision to bring compassionate healthcare and gospel hope to the people of Mandritsara district and beyond.