ZELENSKY
ANNOUNCES "EASTER
AT HOME" PROJECT BECAUSE OF CORONAVIRUS
Ukrainian
President
Vladimir Zelensky has discussed with heads of churches the
safety of
celebrating Pascha and conducting worship services in
circumstances of the
spread of the new coronavirus COVID-19, and the authorities
intend to present an
"Easter at Home" project, the press service of the head of state
announced on Wednesday.
Earlier,
the
Ukrainian cabinet of ministers introduced a quarantine from 12
March to 3 April
in all academic institutions of the country, and it banned mass
events because
of the threat of the spread of the coronavirus. At the session
on Wednesday
they extended it until 24 April. In all, in the country 114
cases of infection
with coronavirus have been identified, four of which were fatal,
and one
patient has recovered.
"Leaders
of
churches understand that a service can be conducted online in
the form of a
videoconference. If some ritual requires the presence of people,
then it is
necessary to limit the number of parishioners. All leaders of
churches agree
with this," the press service quotes Zelensky.
At the
conference of
the president with heads of the state administration they also
considered the
possibility of deploying patrols near temples and churches. In
the event of the
large gathering of people, they should conduct conversations
with parishioners
and explain that gathering in crowds is dangerous not only for
themselves but
also for the health of people nearby.
"Pascha
usually
gathers many people in church. These include people from abroad.
Therefore we
are now preparing and will soon present an 'Easter at Home'
project, which will
help in celebrating this great holiday at home without
collecting in crowds in
churches" the head of state said.
The
holiday of the
Resurrection of Christ, or Pascha, is celebrated this year on 19
April. On 11
March, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of
the new
coronavirus infection COVID-19 a pandemic. According to the
latest data of the
W.H.O., 372,000 persons have already been infected and more than
16,000 have
died. (tr. by PDS, posted 25 March 2020)
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