TAIPEI (UCAN): Parishes in the Archdiocese of Taipei have resumed Sunday and weekday Masses with limited numbers following an announcement from the Office of Archbishop Thomas Chung An-zu on July 23, as Covid-19 restrictions were eased in Taiwan.
However, Archbishop Chung warned, “The situation of the epidemic has slightly relaxed … The Central Epidemic Command Centre will lower the epidemic alert to Level 2 from July 27 to August 9. However, as the [Delta] variant virus continues raging internationally, we still should not relax,” the announcement read.
The notice instructed that the number of persons [including staff] at Mass in each parish should be limited to 50 for indoor services and 100 for outdoor services. Parishes with large numbers of faithful have been asked to increase the number of Masses or change to outdoor services.
People were asked to strictly follow government rules and implement preventive measures before entering churches, such as registering names and contacts, using masks, measuring body temperature and washing hands with alcoholic disinfectants, and maintaining social distancing.
Taiwan was relatively successful in tackling Covid-19 and registered only about 1,400 cases and 14 deaths until May this year.
However, a sudden spike in cases, prompted new curbs, including restrictions on public gatherings and movements. Consequently, churches closed doors in mid-May once again. Last year churches were closed for two months following the first outbreak of Covid-19.
Taiwan has registered 15,662 cases and 787 deaths from the pandemic, according to worldometers.info. About 1.3 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated, local media reported.
