Filipinos flock to churches for Simbang Gabi to pray for COVID-19 deliverance inquirer.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from inquirer.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Department of Health (DoH) is keeping a close watch on Metro Manila after 12 cities in the capital region recorded an alarming rise in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergiere told a media forum on Wednesday that initially, eight cities posted a reproduction number or R0 (pronounced “R naught”) of more than 1.
An R0 of 1 or higher is an indication that the infection rate has increased in the past two weeks.
“This is a warning signal for us to start focusing and start strict monitoring among all other cities in Metro Manila,” Vergeire said.
THIS FAR Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd uses a measuring stick to show the distance between two persons during a visit to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange on Dec. 7 , 2020. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN
A queue at least 400m long had formed just outside the church s walls.
Over 2,000 worshippers eventually made it inside the church s cavernous hall and onto its sprawling grounds for the 4.30am mass.
Many more stood outside, behind its wrought-iron gates.
In normal times, the church could accommodate up to 10,000 devotees. But these are extraordinary times.
Across this predominantly Catholic archipelago, churches began holding pre-dawn masses - known here as the misa de gallo or mass of the rooster - in the run-up to Christmas.
The masses will be held for nine straight days from Wednesday (Dec 16), culminating with the midnight mass on Christmas Eve.
As the bells of a big Catholic church just south of Manila began to toll at around 4am yesterday, thousands were already at the gates of the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.
More than 2,000 worshippers eventually made it inside the church s cavernous hall and onto its sprawling grounds for the 4.30am mass.
Many more stood outside, behind its wrought-iron gates.
In normal times, the church can accommodate up to 10,000 devotees. But these are extraordinary times.
Across the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic archipelago, churches have begun holding pre-dawn masses - known as the misa de gallo or mass of the rooster - in the run-up to Christmas.
(JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“The government, [both national and local], is preparing for a surge. But we should all do our part to prevent it,” Sotto wrote in a Twitter post in reaction to reports that the reproduction rate of COVID-19 in Metro Manila has increased.
Experts from the Octa Research Group said that the metro’s reproduction rate for COVID-19 has breached the threshold of 1, which means that the virus is spreading faster.
It has been in the long tradition of Filipinos to have grand celebrations such as parties and family reunions during the Christmas season.
But with the lingering threat of the coronavirus pandemic, authorities have urged the public to do away with merry-making activities this year to avoid the spread of the dreaded disease in the community.