KUCHING, Nov 28 ― Catholic churches here, as well as in Kota Sentosa and Kota Padawan will resume masses this weekend, said Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching Simon Poh.
He said the Archdiocese of Kuching received confirmation from the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) that houses of worship in Kuching District could reopen after the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) ended yesterday.
“Catholics coming to churches will be required to follow the admission screening safety standard operating procedures (SOP) that have been implemented, to ensure that our churches are safe places for worship. I take this opportunity to exhort all Catholics and Christians to exercise conscientiously our social responsibility by wearing a mask in public, maintaining physical distancing of one metre, as well as donating blood to save lives,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Poh said the number of parishioners per service is still limited to 100 persons, with physical distancing restriction in place. He advised Catholics who wish to attend masses to contact their respective parishes to register their attendance.
“They will follow the earlier protocols announced for this Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) period,” he added.
On October 28, the Archdiocese of Kuching temporarily suspended all celebration of masses, rites, and services following a surge in Covid-19 cases, which led to Kuching District being declared a red zone.
Also suspended was All Souls Day visits to cemeteries and the columbarium in order to help break the chain of transmission.
Poh, who is also Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) president, said the ACS welcomes the good news of the lifting of the CMCO for Kuching District.
“Having followed the daily reports of cases from Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) for the whole week, it is reassuring for ACS to know that Covid-19 has been contained. ACS extends our gratitude to Unifor and SDMC and pledges our cooperation in this task to contain Covid-19 in Sarawak,” he added. ― Borneo Post