Religious centers will operate only with 50% capacity; In addition, processions, child passes and novenas in public spaces are suspended

In a hurry, on the afternoon of Tuesday the 21st, Josefina Macías called her neighbors to change the plans for the novena that they planned to end on the night of the 23rd outside their house, in Samanes 5, north of Guayaquil. The children went to recreate the religious inns to remember the birth of Jesus, as is remembered every December 24 in the Catholic and Christian world.

“Oh, so many things that are heard and last minute changes make us run because we had already organized ourselves to make a beautiful novena, with all the care …, with the use of a mask, alcohol …, but With this that we heard, we decided better not to do it all together, because they say that they have also prohibited it from being done in the streets, ”says Macías, who first learned about the latest resolutions of the national COE on social networks.

From December 23 it will be mandatory to present the vaccination card or certificate to enter public places, by order of the National COE

And although since last December 14, the national authorities raised capacity limitations and other prohibitions, such as novenas and processions in public spaces, this Tuesday 21, the national COE ratified the suspension of public and private events, which include passes of child, processions, novenas in public space, concerts and others.

Juan Zapata, president of the national COE, reiterated, on Tuesday 21, the measures in place in Ecuador to avoid COVID-19 infections. And in the case of capacity for temples and religious centers it is 50%, as in restaurants, food courts, entrepreneurship fairs, cinemas and theaters (without sale and consumption of food and beverages), gyms, spas and others .

Martha Aguirre, resident of Los Ceibos, west of Guayaquil, had prepared a trip with her family to Cuenca for this Christmas, because she wanted to appreciate the traditional Child Traveler Pass that was initially going to be resumed as it was done before the pandemic, but which Later, due to the national situation of COVID-19, it was changed to a vehicular and motorized caravan to avoid crowds.

Ministry of Health confirms another 19 cases of omicron in Guayas

“We had everything ready. Now we are hesitating even to travel to Cuenca. We already have hotel reservations and dinners, but we are going to wait until Thursday at the last minute to decide whether or not to go because, first, we do not know if tomorrow they will give a new announcement and, second, we will see how the issue of HIV infections emerges. COVID-19 in the last hours ”, said the woman who was going to call the place where she was going to stay to alert of possible changes in her decision.

Both on the eve, as well as on December 24 and 25, Catholic and evangelical religious groups, especially, intensify their activities to remember the birth of Jesus.

In Catholic temples, for example, the mass of Christmas Eve and Nativity is traditional, which is held every December 24. And in the evangelical temples special meetings, services and celebrations take place, also on December 24.

Masses, meetings and other activities in religious centers and temples will take place only with 50% of the capacity or capacity of the place.

Churches, centers and religious groups also promote following the activities through social networks, such as the masses that are broadcast live on the internet, as occurred in the most critical months of the COVID-19 pandemic and that many religious parishes and others have maintained. groups.

Allan Hacay, secretary of the Guayaquil Emergency Operations Committee (COE), said, before the announcement of the national COE authorities, that the capacity in churches and religious temples has not changed in recent months, which remains in 50%.

And that in the case of the Catholic Church, the control of capacity and other health provisions has been handled “quite well” during the course of the pandemic, which arrived in Ecuador in February 2020.

He recalled that among the measures they adopted are the celebrations of more masses during the day, as well as the online broadcasts of masses and other religious acts that have been held since the beginning of the pandemic.

“(The Catholic Church) is the one that has complied the best and the most regulated,” said Hacay.

He was in the explanation of the measures that were taken in Guayaquil in the face of more cases of COVID-19 and in the presence of the omicron variant, four times more contagious than the delta.

From this Wednesday 22, in Guayaquil the vaccination card with the two complete doses or the result of the PCR or antigen test (negative) will be requested to enter mass public shows, events or acts in hotels, event halls , convention centers, and also in theaters and cinemas. That was announced on Monday the 20th.

And this Tuesday the 21st, the national COE also adopted the same requirement to present the vaccination card or certificate (with the two doses) for the entrance to public places of the population 12 years and older. This includes shopping malls, cinemas, restaurants, and others.

In Guayaquil there is a sustained increase in COVID-19 cases, as well as an increase in the average number of deaths per day, where it went from 1 to 3 in the last week, according to representatives of the Guayaquil COE. (I)