Coronavirus vigilance marks Ash Wednesday in Philippines, Vietnam

By Neil Jerome Morales and Kham Nguyen
MANILA/HANOI, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Worshippers in the mainly
Roman Catholic Philippines tried to avoid brushing against
fellow devotees and church workers during Ash Wednesday
ceremonies, while in neighbouring Vietnam the faithful wore
masks to keep safe from a spreading coronavirus.
Religious congregations in countries such as Singapore and
South Korea have played a role in the spread of the disease,
awakening authorities to the risk of contagion during religious
services in crowded or confined spaces.
Holy water fonts in churches in Manila were sealed or left
empty, devotees avoided holding hands and priests sprinkled
black ash on people's heads instead of tracing it into a cross
on foreheads.
"Nothing will hinder us from going to church, even if
there's a virus," said housewife Jubeth Lupac, 48, after
attending a mass on Wednesday in the Philippine capital to mark
the beginning of the Christian season of Lent.
"We just have to be careful."
The virus has infected 80,000 people and killed close to
2,700 in China since it emerged in the central city of Wuhan
late last year, causing global anxiety and economic shocks.

Priests in the Philippines, which accounts for more than
half of Asia's roughly 148 million Roman Catholics, offered
verbal blessings instead of touches or handshakes, praying for
sufferers to be healed and a halt in the spread of the virus.
"The Catholic church is in line with the government in being
cautious," said Eric Mojica, a lay minister. Notices reminded
worshippers of precautionary measures adopted by churches.
Catholics make up about 80% of a population of more than 100
million in the Philippines.
At the end of services, church workers sprinkled holy water
on the devout, who wore masks or covered their mouths with
cloths, and used towels to dab their faces or touch religious
items.
In Hanoi, many worshippers wore protective masks, but most
took them off during the ceremony.
"We pray daily for the disease infection to be over soon,"
said a 48-year-old businesswoman, Mary Hoan, who prayed at St.
Joseph's Cathedral in the Vietnamese capital.
Vietnam, with 16 virus infections, has the largest number of
Catholics in Southeast Asia after the Philippines, which has had
one virus death, the first outside China, among a total of three
infections in Chinese tourists.