Devotees leave through the exits of the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu after the first novena mass on Friday, January 8, 2021. CDN Digital photo | Morexette Marie B. Erram
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Even if health protocols such as physical distancing were implemented, thousands still flocked to the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño de Cebu for the Fiesta Señor 2021.
Authorities from Cebu City estimated around 3,000 individuals attended on Friday, January 8, 2021, the opening salvo and first Novena Mass of the week-long celebration in honor of Snr. Sto. Niño.
Councilor Dave Tumulak, who was appointed by the city government to oversee security for the week-long celebration, said there were 1,500 devotees inside the church and 1,500 more in adjacent streets.
Read: ‘Pandemic cannot change faith to Snr. Sto. Niño’
Tumulak said the figures they recorded showed 50-percent drop compared to the pre-COVID years, wherein an average of 6,000 churchgoers attended the masses.
He also said the first day of the nine-day Novena Mass was ‘generally peaceful’ except for several concerns which needed ‘fine-tuning.’
“Since it’s still the first day, definitely there’s a need for improvement in several areas, including how to control the crowd going out of the Basilica every after Mass,” Tumulak said.
When the first Mass of the Novena’s first day concluded past 7 a.m. on Friday, several churchgoers rushed out through various exit points, some of whom briefly disregarded distancing.
Church personnel were quick to close the gates and instruct attendees to queue and wait for their turn to get out of the church. /bmjo