CEBU CITY—For the first time in two years, visits to cemeteries on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day will no longer be restricted even amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said the use of face masks will be optional while vaccination is also not a requirement in visiting cemeteries.
“The situation in our cemeteries will be the same as before the COVID-19 pandemic. Just do not make the cemeteries a disco house,” Rama said in an interview last Thursday.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, all cemeteries in the country were closed to the public to avoid the spread of the new coronavirus. The following year, cemetery visits were allowed but with limited access still because of threats brought by COVID-19.
This year, Rama said people could already visit their loved ones in cemeteries in the city without any restrictions connected with the COVID-19 pandemic, including having to put on face masks.
Just like before the pandemic, liquor, bladed weapons and the use of loudspeakers were still prohibited inside cemeteries, Rama added.
Rama said each person who visits the cemeteries has the responsibility to protect oneself from the virus “as a measure of self-preservation.”
The mayor said it would also be up to the owners or operators of cemeteries to open the burial places for 24 hours or only during specific times of the day.