{"id":1857,"date":"2020-03-12T10:55:13","date_gmt":"2020-03-12T06:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/?p=1857"},"modified":"2020-03-12T10:55:13","modified_gmt":"2020-03-12T06:55:13","slug":"guidance-in-light-of-coronavirus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/archives\/1857","title":{"rendered":"Guidance in Light of Coronavirus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\nApostolic\nPrefecture in Azerbaijan <br>\nOffer Guidance in Light of Coronavirus<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\nWith\na relatively small number of confirmed cases of coronavirus or\nCOVID-19 in Azerbaijan, the risk to the general public remains low.\nHowever, given the regular assembly for liturgical celebrations and a\nnumber of tourist that are visiting our Church, the following advice\nis provided for Apostolic Prefecture to consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\nThis\nadvice should be considered alongside local and national health\nguidance, including from the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.gov.au\/news\/health-alerts\/novel-%20coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert\">Commonwealth\nDepartment of Health&nbsp;<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\nThis\nadvice was prepared after the meeting of the religious leaders of\nAzerbaijan with Prof. Ibadulla Agayev, the Main Epidemiologist in\nAzerbaijan on March 5, 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\nThe\nfollowing recommendations are believed to be proportionate to the\ncurrent understanding of the coronavirus and the risks outlined by\nhealth authorities. They are consistent with the Catholic Church\u2019s\nprerogative to protect those who are most vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\n\tIndividuals\n\tshould consider their own health, including any potential to infect\n\tothers with a contagious disease, before attending a public\n\tliturgical celebration.\n\t<\/li><li>\n\tHoly\n\tWater should be <strong>temporarily<\/strong>\n\tremoved from the stoups at the doors of churches to reduce the\n\tpossibility of transmission of the virus. Holy Water should continue\n\tto be available for people to take home.\n\t<\/li><li>\n\tParishes\n\tand other settings where liturgies are celebrated should make\n\talcohol-based gels or rubs (or like products) available near\n\tentrances. Similar provisions should be considered for settings used\n\tfor the Sacrament of Reconciliation.\n\t<\/li><li>\n\tWhen\n\texchanging the Sign of Peace, individuals should avoid shaking hands\n\tbut say \u201cPeace be with you\u201d and offer a smile, wave, nod or bow.\n\t<\/li><li>\n\tAll\n\tMinisters of Holy Communion should take particular care to wash\n\ttheir hands before and after distributing. Appropriate means should\n\tbe made available.\n\t<\/li><li>\n\tPriest\n\tshould cease distributing Holy Communion from the Chalice until\n\tfurther notice. The faithful should be reminded that Christ is fully\n\tpresent under either species.\n\t<\/li><li>\n\tThe\n\tcoronavirus is easily spread through saliva. In celebrations of the\n\tOrdinary Form of the Latin Rite, it is therefore recommended that\n\tthe Body of Christ only be administered <strong>preferable<\/strong>\n\tin the hand, because of the high risk of transmission if people\n\tcontinue to receive on the tongue. Priests should seek to avoid\n\tcontact with the communicant\u2019s hands.\n\t<\/li><li>\n\tThe\n\tfaithful who are too unwell to attend Sunday Mass \u2013 whether due to\n\tcoronavirus or some other condition \u2013 or are at particular risk of\n\tcontracting the COVID-19 virus can in this period honor their Sunday\n\tobligation by participating in a time of prayer within the home,\n\treading the Scriptures or watching Mass on television or internet.\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\nCatholics\nmay be reassured that, should they contract COVID-19 and become\nseriously ill, priests will continue to ensure they receive the\nsacraments and other appropriate pastoral care.\nPriests\nand other Church leaders are encouraged to communicate their relevant\nadvice with the faithful clearly and appropriately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\nThe\nApostolic Church on Azerbaijan will continue to monitor advices from\nhealth authorities and other episcopal\nconferences. These advices will be updated if necessary.\n                                                                     \n          \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\nBaku,\nMarch 06, 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Apostolic Prefecture in Azerbaijan Offer Guidance in Light of Coronavirus With a relatively small number of confirmed cases of coronavirus or COVID-19 in Azerbaijan, the risk to the general public [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parish-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Durer_Albrecht-Study_of_an_Apostles_Hands_Praying_Hands.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1859,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1857\/revisions\/1859"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholic.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}