CEBU CITY, Philippines—Local officials of Barangay Guadalupe here are planning to ask churches in the village to hold virtual Masses as the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases continues to increase.
Michael Gacasan, captain of Barangay Guadalupe, told reporters in a press interview on Monday, January 25, 2021, that they still allowed face-to-face Masses in churches last Sunday, January 24, despite the prevailing stay-at-home policy.
“Last Sunday, we allowed our churches to conduct physical Masses at a maximum capacity of 50 percent. But there were only a few attendees. Every after Mass, they are told to go home,” said Gacasan in Cebuano.
But in the event that COVID-19 cases will continue to rise, Gacasan said they will make an appeal to church officials and priests to forego public Masses, and have masses shown online instead.
“Actually, we already made a request to the priests last Saturday (January 23) but they told us that they needed time to set up,” said Gacasan.
There are two large Roman Catholic churches in Barangay Guadalupe. These are the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Parish of the Alliance of Two Hearts.
Guadalupe continues to top the list of Cebu City barangays with the most number of COVID-19 cases reported in the past tqo weeks.
As of January 24, Gacasan said they recorded 60 new cases with only recovery and one mortality. The infection, he said, has also affected 30 sitios (sub-villages).
Read: Guadalupe to lift Sunday restrictions only if cases decrease
/bmjo