Posted on 02/15/2020 6:06:15 PM PST by marshmallow
The next two weeks are crucial to suppress the epidemic, says Cardinal John Tong
The threat of spreading the coronavirus has forced Catholic officials in Hong Kong to suspend all church programs for the next two weeks and cancel the Ash Wednesday liturgy that marks the beginning of the Lent season.
Cardinal John Tong, the apostolic administrator of Hong Kong, said the “disappointing” decision had been taken “because the next two weeks will be a crucial time to suppress the epidemic.”
The diocese has decided to suspend all public Masses on Sundays and weekdays from Feb. 15-28 and to cancel the liturgy of Ash Wednesday, Cardinal Tong said in a Feb. 13 pastoral letter.
Ash Wednesday, which marks seven weeks of fast, abstentions and prayer leading to the Easter feast of Christ’s resurrection, this year falls on Feb. 26.
Hong Kong’s 500,000 Catholics will miss the liturgy in which ash will be smeared on foreheads, reminding humans that they will turn into dust when they die. It calls for repentance and prayers.
The move comes amid global fears that the epidemic, now called COVID-19, has worsened in the last few days in China against the expectations of experts.
The epidemic, first reported in Wuhan city of Hubei province, has spread across the world and claimed 1,369 lives, with more than 60,000 confirmed cases as of Feb. 13, mostly in China.
Hong Kong, which has open borders with China, has reported 50 confirmed cases and one death. Hundreds are now under self-isolation or observation.
(Excerpt) Read more at ucanews.com ...
“against the expectations of experts” … not true … the experts established the outbreak rate (cases doubling every 7.4 days) 1/29 in New England Journal of Medicine: Early Transmission Dynamix in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pnumonia, https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2001316
Nothing has changed that rate … in mainland China, unless some dramatic improvement happens, the exponential series goes to one million cases by 3/15. Hong Kong has got to do everything to break the transmission rate: 1 victim infects 2.2 people.
I’ve seen ash distribution at the end of Mass on Sundays following Ash Wednesday after crippling NEUS winter storms
Penance and prayer … stops outbreaks … 2 Samuel 24:18-25
tell me are thoats still blessed on St Blaise day?
Feb. 3rd was the St. Blaise throat blessing. Our parish did it.
thank you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.