Watch out for symptoms, DOH tells Quiapo crowd

Devout display: People raising images of the Black Nazarene as they are blessed with holy water outside the church in Quiapo, Manila. — AP

The Department of Health (DOH) pleaded with the people who descended on Quiapo Church and its vicinity for the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene to go into self-quarantine and closely watch for any symptoms of Covid-19.

To prevent a superspreader event, officials cancelled the Jan 9 “traslacion”, a procession which draws hundreds of thousands of barefoot devotees who follow the image of the centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ carrying a cross on a float being pulled by rope for more than 20 hours through central Manila’s major streets from Rizal Park to Quiapo Church.