MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque has called for a ban on attending Masses in churches and going to cinemas as a precautionary measure against the 2019 coronavirus disease or COVID-19.

In an interview over Radyo Inquirer on Friday, Duque said attending Mass in church, which is usually crowded with faithfuls, is like a “petri dish” for COVID-19.

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“Pagbabawal na muna natin, kasi yan ang number one na pinanggagalingan. Parang a petri dish (We will stop it for now because that is where the virus will come from. It is like a petri dish),” Duque said when asked if the health department would recommend the prohibition of attending Masses.

“Ganun din yung sinehan. Magsakripisyo po tayo lahat dito kasi kailangan natin masugpo (Moviehouses should be banned as well. We must sacrifice so that we can address this health crisis),” he added.

In a separate interview with dzBB, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said he will recommend to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to include in their topics to discuss the ban on church-going for the meantime, in line with the drive of government for social distancing.

To fight the spread of coronavirus disease, the Philippine health department required social distancing which means people should enforce a one-meter distance.

The Philippine government has raised its alert level to Code Red Sub-Level 2 because of the presence of community transmission and prevalence of COVID-19 cases beyond what the nation can address.

To date, the Philippines has 52 cases, including five deaths, of the coronavirus disease, a respiratory disease which was caused by the novel coronavirus.

The novel coronavirus causes mild symptoms but it could become a high risk for older people and those with existing health conditions.

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What you need to know about Coronavirus.

For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

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