Churches in Mumbai to restart mass for public from Nov 29

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 21 (ANI): All churches in Mumbai will resume Sunday masses and other celebrations from November 29 with strict adherence to all the government regulations and necessary COVID-19 protocols, according to a circular issued by the Archbishop of Bombay on Friday.
Although the Maharashtra government allowed religious places to reopen from November 16, churches in Mumbai remained shut for the public and only private prayers were allowed inside the church premises till now.

"The government suddenly announced the reopening of religious places at a time when we were not prepared with the necessary infrastructure in regard to COVID-19 precautions. So we took our time for all the necessary arrangements like foot pedal sanitiser dispenser, demarcation for social distancing and availability of spare masks for the visitors," Father Nigel Barrett, spokesperson for Archbishop of Bombay, told ANI.

Father Barrett said the church will continue with online masses despite the reopening of churches for people who cannot step out as of now.
"We will continue online masses despite reopening of the churches so that people have an option to continue their prayers if they are not able to physically attend church masses," Father Barrett said.
He also mentioned that all COVID-19 related precautions will be strictly followed and an advisory for the same was issued on behalf of the church for people's assistance.
"The church is fully invested in the people's safety. There will be gaps between prayers and only one-third capacity of visitors will be allowed at a time," he added. (ANI)