MUMBAI: The archbishop of Bombay, Oswald Cardinal Gracias, issued a circular to parish priests on Tuesday, instructing them to reintroduce SOPs of 2020 once churches reopen for worship on October 7.
Masses on Sunday and feast days will be scheduled an hour and a half apart to enable church authorities to prepare for the following batch. The circular iterates that church premises will be sanitised at regular intervals, and ushers can conduct thermal screening at the entrance, if possible.
Masks will be mandatory for entry. Until the government issues further directives, only one-third of the church capacity will be accommodated at mass. Worshippers must not touch statues or hymn books. The sprinkling of holy water is disallowed, except during baptism, marriages and funerals. Water stoops must be kept dry.
