THE Holy Week might cause a widespread transmission of coronavirus if devotees fail to strictly observe minimum health protocol, a health official said.
City Health Office (CHO) Acting Head Dr. Ashley Lopez said devotees flocking to the church could turn the event into a “superspreader,” where a single infected person infects many others on contact, leading to unusually large clusters of Covid-19 cases.
Lopez likened this to the recent Christmas and New Year celebration, which caused a surge of cases due to non-essential gatherings and other activities, despite warning from health officials.
"Ingon aning mga event sama sa Pasko, New Year, mga Semana Santa (These events such as Christmas, New Year, and Holy Week), they are superspreader events. Mao ni siya ang mga sources, mao kani siya ang hinungdan nga mag-outbreak nasab ta sa (These are sources of a surge, causing another outbreak of cases here in) Davao [City]," the health official said.
The official also said that there is a need to control mass gatherings, which are vulnerable to the transmission, as the city is in a threat of a possible “second wave” of Covid-19 cases. This, despite the city continuing to experience a downtrend of cases.
He advised devotees, including minors, senior citizens, and those with comorbidities, "to do a little sacrifice" and observe their Holy Week traditions and praying activities at home and attend online masses.
He also advised to only go out for essential purposes.
"Ang importante lang man ana is sincerity and honesty sa imong pag-ampo sa Diyos para atong malikayan ang pagtapok-tapok (What is important is that you are sincere and honest in your prayers to the Lord so that we would avoid gatherings) because we have regulations sa atong (in our) mass gathering," Lopez said.
In an issued Executive Order 12 series of 2021 on March 12, Duterte-Carpio said religious gatherings will only be allowed up to 50 percent of the seating capacity, provided that religious gathering shall be limited to the conduct of religious worship and/or service.
Vulnerable sector, including person below 15 years old, those who are 65 years old and above, those with immunodeficiency, comorbidity, or other health risks, and pregnant women, including any person who resides with the aforementioned, shall be required to remain in their residences at all times, and are urged to attend masses via livestream.
The Archdiocese of Davao said in a letter to Duterte-Carpio that it will defer its Holy Week activities outside the church, including crowd procession, but will still conduct masses under a limited capacity.
Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) head Angel Sumagaysay told SunStar Davao in a phone interview that security personnel will be deployed to strictly monitor the observance of minimum health protocol inside churches.
Sumagaysay said they already coordinated with the archdiocese on the security measures and protocols that are needed to be in place.
He also instructed the Davao City Police Office and its station commanders to coordinate with the parishes covered in their area of responsibility to implement health and security measures.