Those who are sick need not go out to attend Thursday's Mass for the World Day of the Sick.
Catholic prelates said they may just monitor the Mass online at home.
"Those who cannot make it to come to the churches they will just follow via livestream and they can also have blessings," Military Bishop Oscar Florencio, the vice chairman of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Health, said in an interview Wednesday, Feb. 10.
Archdiocese of Manila Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the elderly and sick need not go out especially in view of the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
"They can just join us through online facilities," he said.
Pabillo will celebrate Mass at the National Shrine of St. Michael and the Archangels in Manila at 9 a.m. and this will be livestreamed by TV Maria.
The Diocese of Cubao will also offer Masses and special prayers for the sick.
"We have masses and special prayers in the parishes," Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco said.
"The National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes is also observing protocols for health and safety," he added.
The World Day of the Sick is an annual event celebrated on February 11 – the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, whose shrine has become a sanctuary of human suffering.
Pope Saint John Paul II initiated the day in 1992 to encourage the faithful to pray for those who suffer from illness and for their caregivers.