Pope Tawadros II closes churches, suspends rituals for 14 days

CAIRO - 21 March 2020: Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria announced the closure of all churches, and the suspension of all rituals and activities for 14 days starting March 21 as a protective measure against the spread of COVID-19 aka coronavirus.

The Pope also decided to shut down halls where condolences are extended, recommending in his statement that funerals must be exclusive to the deceased’s families. Each diocese shall confine funerals to one church, and all visits to monasteries have to stop.

The Pope urged resident and expat Christians to abide by the rules set by the authorities to avoid a possible disaster, and to pray for those who were infected and for medical teams who are combating the crisis at present.

The Ministry of Health and Population declared on Friday that infection cases rose by 29 to record 285, and that deaths increased to 8 as a 60-year-old man died after returning from Italy.

Yet, 11 individuals healed and left the quarantine hospital for the total to become 39.