MANILA, Philippines — The Archdiocese of Manila has suspended the celebration of the Holy Mass in all churches of the Archdiocese for one week to enforce the social distancing protocol to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.
In a pastoral letter issued on Friday, Manila Apostolic Administrator Broderick Pabillo said any public gathering in all churches of the Archdiocese will be temporarily stopped starting March 14 (Saturday) until March 20 (Friday).
“There will be no public celebration of the Holy Mass and no public activities in all the churches in the Archdiocese for seven days starting March 14 til Friday,” Pabillo said.
“I recognize that this may impact many faithful and priests but let us do this in the spirit of sacrifice for the good of all,” the church official added.
Pabillo also asked churches to hold individual confessions for penitents instead of organizing “Kumpisalang Bayan” or mass confessions.
Despite the health protocol, Pabillo said the faithful should listen to Radyo Veritas 846 and watch TV Maria for regular broadcasts of Masses and church activities.
The Philippine government has upgraded the country’s COVID-19 alert level to Code Red Sub-Level 2 after confirming community transmission and the spike in COVID-19 cases.
Currently, the Philippines has 52 confirmed cases, with five ending in deaths from COVID-19.
The novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19 was first reported in Wuhan City in China’s Hubei province. It causes mild symptoms such as coughs and fever but it can also cause serious illness such as pneumonia for older people and those with other health issues.