Archdiocese of Manila: 42 churches closed amid soaring COVID cases

FILE PHOTO: National Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Makati City. NSSHPH.BLOGSPOT.COM

MANILA, Philippines — Forty-two parishes under the Archdiocese of Manila have been temporarily shuttered as fresh COVID-19 infections continue to rise nationwide.

In a Facebook post of the Archdiocese of Manila’s Office of Communications on Tuesday, the closed churches are:

• Saint Vincent De Paul Parish (from January 6-15)
• Nuestra Señora De La Soledad Parish-Binondo (from January 6-15)
• Saint John Bosco Parish-Makati (from January 6-15)
• Parokya ng Ina ng Laging Saklolo-Punta (from Janiary 6-16)
• San Jose de Trozo Parish (from January 6-20)
• Santa Clara de Montefalco Parish (from January 6 until further notice)
• Our Lady of the Assumption Parish (from January 6 until further notice)
• Saint Peter the Apostle Parish (from January 6 until further notice)
• Saint Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish (from January 6 until further notice)
• Our Lady of Fatima Parish-Pasay (from January 6 until further notice)
• Saint Andrew the Apostle Parish (from January 7-11)
• National Shrine of the Sacred Heart (from January 7-11)
• Santa Teresita Parish-Makati (from January 7 until further notice)
• San Roque de Sampaloc Parish (from January 7 until further notice)
• Saint John of the Cross Parish-Makati (from January 8-16)
• Our Lady of Penafrancia Parish (from January 8-16)
• Mater Dolorosa Parish (from January 8-22)
• Saint Anthony of Padua Parish-Singalong (from January 8 until further notice)
• San Juan Nepomuceno Parish-Pasay (from January 8 until further notice)
• Santuario de San Antonio Parish-Makati (from January 9-15)
• Santuario del Santo Cristo (from January 9-22)
• San Isidro Labrador Parish-Pasay (from January 9 until further notice)
• Mary, Mirror of Justice Parish-Makati (from January 9 until further notice)
• Santisimo Rosario Parish-UST (January 9-30)
• St. Francis of Assisi Parish-Mandaluyong (from January 10-15)
• Saint John Mary Vianney Parish-Makati (from January 10-15)
• National Shrine of Our Lady of Abandoned (from January 10-18)
• Minor Basilica and National Shrine of San Lorenzo Ruiz (from January 10 until further notice)
• Our Lady of Abandoned Parish-Mandaluyong (from January 10 until further notice)
• Our Lady of La Paz Parish-Makati (from January 10 until further notice)
• Archdiocesan Shrine of Santo Nino de Tondo (from January 15-16)
• National Shrine of Saint Jude Thaddeus (from December 31 to January 14)
• Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Chinese Parish (from December 31 to January 15)
• Santa Maria Goretti Parish (from January 3-15)
• Our Lady of Remedies Parish-Malate (from January 4-15)
• National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe (from January 4-17)
• Saint Joseph Parish-Gagalangin (from January 4-17)
• Saint John the Baptist Parish (from January 4 until further notice)
• Santissima Trinidad Parish-Malate (from January 5-11)
• Mary the Queen Parish-San Juan (from January5-14)
• San Roque Parish-Pasay (from January 5-14)

https://www.facebook.com/RCAMAOC/posts/1155519208187524

According to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila (RCAM) Ministry on Health Care, the temporary closure of the 42 churches were due to various reasons including priests and parish personnel contracting the coronavirus, as a preventive measure against the spread of the virus, general disinfection and sanitation of the church and its premises, to allow routine RT-PCR tests, or give way to scheduled booster shots.

The Philippines is currently seeing a persistent increase in fresh COVID-19 infections. On January 10, the country reported its highest ever daily increase yet at 33,169 new cases.

On Tuesday, it reported 28,007 new cases pushing the total count beyond the 3 million mark and active cases to 181,016.

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