DOH to the Quiapo Crowd: Watch for Symptoms

The Department of Health (DOH) pleaded on Saturday to the crowd that descended on the Quiapo church and its surroundings for the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene to quarantine themselves and closely observe any symptoms of COVID-19.

To avoid a super-spreader event, officials canceled the January 9 “translation,” a procession that draws hundreds of thousands of barefoot devotees who follow the image of the centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ carrying a cross on a float pulled by a Rope for more than 20 hours through the main streets of downtown Manila from Rizal Park to Quiapo Church.

In a statement, DOH advised those who participated in the annual Black Nazarene veneration “to minimize interactions, especially with vulnerable members of their households, and to actively self-monitor for any symptoms.”

In lieu of the procession, Church authorities scheduled 15 Masses that would begin before dawn on Saturday, but only 400 people were allowed inside the church at a time. Thousands outside followed the rites that were broadcast live on 12 large television screens around the church.

By noon Saturday, at least 400,000 devotees had been in and around the church since Friday night, according to Manila Police Chief Brig. General Leo Francisco.

Major during the pandemic

The religious event drew the largest crowds in Metro Manila since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

The Manila city government reported that 2.3 million devotees joined the relocation last year.

Police reported crowds in the vicinity of the nearby church of San Sebastián, the church of Santa Cruz and the Nazarene Catholic school.

Several thousand officers were deployed to ensure social distancing among the devoted crowd.

This year, the Manila Public Employment Service Office set up booths around Quiapo to distribute masks to devotees free of charge.

Devotees were also asked to fill out contact tracing forms at various checkpoints around the Quiapo Church, but some submitted theirs online.

DOH said devotees who went to Quiapo and later showed COVID-19 symptoms should immediately report to their Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams “for proper management and referral.”

He also urged local governments, especially in the National Capital Region, to coordinate with the Quiapo Church to secure a list of devotees who went to Quiapo, and to actively monitor their constituents who participated in the event for early detection.

‘We need a miracle now’

“We’re really going to need a miracle to stop a super spreader event in Quiapo right now,” said Dr. Edsel Salvana, a member of DOH’s technical advisory group, in a tweet before noon on Saturday.

“Please do not go [to Quiapo]”Said the molecular biologist and infectious disease expert. “Aren’t we supposed to take care of each other? Putting others at risk is as unchristian as it sounds. Let’s keep each other safe. “

His appeal on Twitter, which had more than 1,000 likes and shares, fell short of the tens of thousands who ignored similar pleas from authorities to stay home to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease. severe respiratory illness.

The risk of contracting the virus, which has infected nearly half a million people in the country, did not bother Marlene Ordiales, 58, who believed that the Black Nazarene would protect her.

“I don’t care about the pandemic. I leave it to Him, ”Ordiales told French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) as he waited to enter the church.

A mere glance

The faithful could only look at the icon, which was placed out of reach on the balcony above the entrance to the Quiapo church. The statue is believed to have healing powers and worshipers struggle to touch it during the procession.

Like hundreds of thousands of other devotees, John Michael dela Cruz settled for just a glimpse of the Black Nazarene from a distance.

For the past five years, Dela Cruz participated in the translation, beginning as early as 4 am with a prayer that she would survive the grueling procession.

Epidemiological prudence

“It is a new feeling, because we are used to pulling the rope and getting on the float, but it is fine if the procession does not take place this year, as this is also for the safety of most of the people at this time of COVID “. he said.

Dela Cruz, who lost his job as a pest control technician during the pandemic, chose to practice his faith with epidemiological prudence.

“I will make sure that the virus does not infect me and I know that the Black Nazarene will never leave me,” he said after traveling from Cavite to Manila to hear mass at the Quiapo church.

Moro Alfonso, 28, who has joined the procession since he was 11, said no pandemic could prevent him from worshiping the Black Nazarene.

Alfonso, who lives in Tondo, Manila, with his wife and two young daughters, went with his family to hear mass at the Quiapo church on Friday. He was back, but alone, in the basilica on Saturday morning.

Odelio Abril Parada, a devotee of three decades, was saddened by the cancellation of the procession, but agreed that it was necessary for everyone’s safety.

“It’s okay to postpone, but we really hope the pandemic is over so that there is [a] transfer next year, ”Parada told the Inquirer.

Parada, who now runs the Sta. Lucia’s chapter of devotees in the city of San Juan, attributes his good fortune to the “Lord”, the name they give to the Black Nazarene.

It’s still a ‘magnet’

As a teenager in Manila, Parada had relied on menial jobs to survive, saying the Black Nazarene gave him direction, answered his prayers, and allowed him to finish a business degree in college and have a good family.

To avoid contracting the coronavirus disease and not increase the number of people in the Quiapo area, he and his wife simply prayed at the Iglesia San Juan Bautista in San Juan, which has a replica of the Black Nazarene.

In his homily during the first Mass on Saturday, the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Manila, Bishop Broderick Pabillo, called the Black Nazarene a “magnet” who continued to draw crowds of people.

“That attraction cannot be stopped, and although our way of expressing our faith has changed, our devotion continues … and people are still getting closer to the Nazarene,” said Pabillo.

“Many have lost their jobs, many are confined to their homes in their barangay, but we all know that God is one with us,” he said.

The Manila city government and Msgr. Hernando Coronel, rector of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, had asked devotees to stay home and not go to the Quiapo Church to avoid exposure to the coronavirus.

The Church had established online platforms, such as a live broadcast of Masses on Facebook, for devotees at home and abroad. —WITH REPORTS FROM JODEE A. AGONCILLO, DEXTER CABALZA AND AFP

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For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

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