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Religious gatherings suspended anew

Philippines | National

Religious gatherings suspended anew

By Christina Hermoso

The faithful will have to fulfill their religious obligations online again for the next two weeks after the national government suspended anew Sunday, March 21, religious gatherings in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite following the spike in COVID-19 cases in the country.

(Quiapo Church / Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)

Mass gatherings, including religious gatherings, will not be allowed starting Monday, March 22, until April 4 to help curb the rising cases of COVID-19 in the country.

For the last few weeks, the faithful have slowly been returning to attending live masses after places of worship like churches were allowed to fill in 50 percent of their capacity. The new suspension also takes effect as the observance of the Holy Week is set to begin on Palm Sunday, March 28.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases, on Sunday, endorsed the implementation of the new regulations.

Meanwhile, the archdioceses and dioceses in the affected areas have announced their compliance to the directive as they held their last live masses last night.

The Archdiocese of Manila said it would continue to livestream their holy masses. The Diocese of Pasig said it will release its guidelines today, while the Dioceses of Cubao and Novaliches have announced the temporary suspension of live masses and other religious activities from March 22 to April 4.

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