Quiapo Church shut until July 4 due to virus

MANILA, Philippines — The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene or Quiapo Church in Manila, would be closed to the public until July 4 after a visiting priest who stayed there for months tested positive for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

According to Fr. Douglas Badong, parochial vicar of Quiapo Church, they have been denying people entry since June 19 although Masses continue to be streamed live on social media.

Badong said they were informed that the priest, who left the parish on June 13, was now back in his diocese and already declared free of COVID-19.

“As a precaution, we immediately placed the church under lockdown to protect the people,” he said, adding that all other priests and staff of the parish were also undergoing self-quarantine while the church was being disinfected.

Quiapo Church rector Msgr. Ding Coronel said that so far, none of them had experienced symptoms of the virus. They also tested negative for COVID-19 in rapid antibody tests.Earlier, the Santisima Trinidad Parish in Malate was also placed on lockdown after Fr. Jojo Buenafe, the parish priest, and and a staffer were found positive for the contagious disease. INQ