BY TARA YAP
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ILOILO CITY – The Archdiocese of Jaro on Wednesday clarified that the two priests who are infected with coronavirus (COVID-19) disease did not hold Eucharistic mass at any parish church in Iloilo City.
“It was not at a parish church, but a chapel of a religious order,” said d Fr. Angelo Colada, the archdiocese’s social communications director.
The clarification was made after the two priests reportedly held mass while results of the swab tests for COVID-19 were still pending.
“They don’t even have a parish because both of the priests belong to a religious order. The mass was held for several members of the group and not with many people,” Colada told Manila Bulletin.
The two priests are not from Iloilo, but came from Metro Manila for their assignment in the province.
Colada cannot ascertain when the duo arrived, but believed it may have been the last week of June.
Colada added the archdiocese did not know of their arrival, especially when there was supposed to be travel restrictions from high-risk areas.
Based on initial probe of the archdiocese, the two priests tested negative for COVID-19 prior to their departure in Metro Manila and when they arrived in Iloilo.
“But then, they tested positive for the swab test,” Colada added.
Meanwhile, all those who attended the special mass at the chapel presided by the two priests are now under strict isolation as they have also undergone swab tests.
