SEVERAL parishes in the Philippines have announced that they will be implementing “contact-tracing” of people who will attending church services.
At the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag in the province of Pangasinan, people are required to write their name and contact number before entering the church.
The Dominican Community of the Priory of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag said the list of names will be useful if a COVID-19 case is reported.
“The health and safety of all devotees is our primary concern when we resume liturgical services here,” read a “letter to devotees” from the Basilica.
“To aid potential contact tracing, we require mass-goers to write their name and contact number before being allowed entry to church premises,” read the letter.
Contact tracing is the identification and follow-up of persons, who may have come into close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case.
Other churches in the country, such as those in the Diocese of Pasig in the Philippine capital, will also adopt contact tracing mechanisms when public liturgical celebrations resume.
In his Administrative Decree dated June 8, Bishop Mylo Vergara of Pasig instructed priests to inform the faithful to bring a pen when attending Mass.
“At the entrance doors of the church, they will be given a form which they can bring in their seats,” said the bishop.
They church attendees will fill up the form and later submit it when they leave the church after the celebration.
In the Diocese of Sorsogon churchgoers are asked to fill up a logbook for easy tracing.
Churches in the Philippines have been implementing safety protocols to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus disease.
