BY TARA YAP
Iloilo City – With rising local transmissions of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Roman Catholic churches in this city have reinstated the ban on churchgoers to attend Eucharistic masses.
“I am asking all city parishes to suspend public masses beginning today until further notice,” said Jaro Archbishop Jose Romeo Lazo in a statement released Saturday, August 8.
The archdiocese was responding to the appeal of Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas to temporarily halt mass gatherings for the next two weeks as more than 100 new local cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the past several days including a new COVID-19 fatality Saturday.
“In the meantime, we are asked to be vigilant, as we uphold the safety and welfare of each and everyone,” Lazo noted.
While churchgoers are not allowed to attend Masses, the archbishop encouraged them to participate in the Eucharist that is streamed on social media platforms as means to cope with the fear inflicted by COVID-19. (Tara Yap)