PANAJI: In order to help prevent the spread of coronavirus the Roman Catholic Church in Goa on Saturday issued advisory asking people to not kiss the Holy Cross and urged priests to purify their hands with sanitisers.

The advisory issued by Archbishop of Goa Daman and Diu, Filipe Neri Ferrao also urged people to not shake hands and offer a Namaste instead.

"On Good Friday, at the Veneration of the Cross, discourage people from kissing the Cross. The blessing with a raised Cross would be adequate. Those who desire could come in a queue, make reverence with a bow and go back. Holy water stoops may be kept dry," the advisory stated.

"I exhort the clergy, the religious and the faithful of this archdiocese to constantly and earnestly pray to the almighty, both for the deliverance of those affected by the disease and for the protection of the rest of the population against the looming virus," said Ferrao.

Last week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared it as a pandemic. Globally, atleast 145374 confirmed cases have been reported and more than 5400 people have lost their lives due to the disease.

So far, India has detected 93 positive cases of COVID-19.



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