Iloilo church, local gov’t build hand-washing stations as alcohol gets scarce

CLEAN HANDS Administrators of the Shrine of St. Vincent Ferrer in Leganes town, Iloilo province, have built a hand-washing station, with running water and bars of soap, that pilgrims and residents can use whenever they visit the church. —RAYMOND NUEVA/CONTRIBUTOR

ILOILO CITY—Church leaders in Leganes town in Iloilo province have offered a solution to the shortage of disinfectants, like alcohol and hand sanitizers, in the wake of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) threat: a hand-washing station.

They built a four-faucet, concrete hand-washing station with strong running water close to the side entrance of the church where parishioners can wash their hands before entering and after leaving the church.

The washing station was built on March 13, a day after local officials asked leaders of the 131-year-old Shrine of St. Vincent Ferrer to help look for a solution for the lack of rubbing alcohol and sanitizers, which health officials have recommended to the public to use to avoid infection.

Pilgrimage site

Leganes officials were concerned about the spread of COVID-19 in the town because the church is a popular destination for pilgrims, especially devotees of St. Vincent Ferrer, the patron saint of the sick.

“It was the lack of isopropyl alcohol [in local stores] that got us worried so we talked to the parish office regarding preventive measures and they came up with this solution of constructing a hand-washing station,” said Leah Gonzaludo, executive assistant of Leganes Mayor Vicente Jaen II.

Tapping the help of neighborhood carpenters, Church officials were able to build the hand-washing station on March 13.

The move came barely a week before the Archdiocese of Jaro ordered on March 18 the cancellation of all Masses in the archdiocese, including those at the St. Vincent Ferrer Church, as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19.

But residents near the shrine continue to use the washing facility even if the church has been closed.

Rule

The success of the hand-washing station prompted the Leganes municipal government to install one at the town hall and another at the Leganes Commercial Complex. A “one exit, one entrance” rule has also been strictly implemented in these buildings as prevention against the spread of the virus.

So far, everyone who had gone in and out of the municipal hall and the market had been washing their hands, Gonzaludo said.