St Joseph's Church Singapore Singapore resumed public Masses and liturgical prayers at the weekend with government-issued directives and precautionary measures being taken.
The Archdiocese of Singapore, who had previously suspended all Church programs in February, announced their plan to resume religious services on March 14 and 15 last week.
The archdiocese said the resumption of public gatherings for the city-state’s 300,000 Catholics were “subject to guidelines” from the government’s Ministry of Health.
Father Stephen Yim, who heads the archdiocesan task force on the coronavirus outbreak, said they would work hard to minimise risks at restored services.
“Our Catholic Medical Guild is reviewing developments and following the directives of the government,” he said, advising any sick or elderly faithful to stick to watching online Masses, which are to continue until further notice.
Church leaders met with Health Minister Gan Kim Yong and Culture Minister Grace Fu, who encouraged the Church to resume activities with the necessary precautionary measures.
Precautionary measures taken at 32 parishes under the archdiocese include the installation of thermal scanners and thermometers for temperature screening.
They also planned to increase the frequency of cleaning in church buildings, reduce the sharing of common items and to continue awareness campaigns on personal hygiene.