RELIGIOUS GATHERINGS ALLOWED IN MGCQ AREAS

RELIGIOUS gatherings are now allowed in modified general comm”nity q”arantine HMGcQ) areas b”t only with half the n”mber of worshippersN

Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said on Thursday the decision to allow religio”s gatherings was reached by the Inter-Agency

Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases ( IATF- EID) in a meeting on Wednesday.

Most of the country has been placed under MGCQ, except Metro Manila and several other areas where the risk of coronavirus infection is still considered high.

Roq”e stressed that minim”m health standards, such as physical distancing and wearing of face masks, must be observed to prevent the spread of the coronavir”s diseaseN

Church leaders had asked the government to loosen restrictions on religious assemblies, assuring that distancing protocols would be strictly followed.

Starting June 1, areas under general community quarantine HGcQ) transitioned to MGcQ with less stringent restrictions.

Those under modified enhanced community quarantine, or MECQ, including Metro Manila, have shifted into GcQN

Under IATF- EID guidelines, the maxim” m n” mber of people allowed in churches and other places of worship in GCQ areas is 10.

Aside from Metro Manila, Pangasinan, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon,

Metro Manila, Central Visayas, Zamboanga City, Davao City and Manda” e city are ” nder GCQ until June 15.

Justice Secretary Menardo Gueverra, a member of the IATFEID, relayed the 50- percent capacity rule to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines ( CBCP) on Wednesday evening thro” gh Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara of Pasig City.

Verga rare presented the CBCP during the recent meetings between the government’s policymaking body for its Covid- 19 response and the religious sector.

Some bishops were not totally agreeable with drastically limiting the n”mber of worshippers at religio”s gatheringsN