Archbishop Simon Poh
KUCHING (April 30): Roman Catholic churches in Sarawak will still not allow admission of members of congregation with ‘high risk’ status (red colour) on their MySejahtera, said Archbishop Simon Poh.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuching said this was included in the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP) for Catholic churches effective May 1.
He also said anyone with cough, fever and flu-like symptoms should also refrain from coming to church.
He advised them to instead follow the online church mass from their homes until their health situation gets better.
“Show the status of your MySejahtera to service team members on duty at church entrance.
“MySejahtera QR Code scanning is now optional. Anyone without a mobile phone may use manual recording,” he said in a church notice today following Thursday’s announcement by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on Covid-19 SOP relaxations.
Poh said the SOPs for Catholic churches also require face masks to be worn at all times within church buildings and compounds.
He also said members of the congregation must maintain space or gap between persons sitting in church, minimise points of contact, bring their own hand sanitiser and consciously maintain physical distancing at all times.
“The face mask has proven to be effective in reducing transmission of the highly infectious coronavirus and acts as a last barrier against infection,” he said.
According to Poh, the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) are adopting the Health Minister’s new Covid-19 protocol and will not be issuing any new SOP.
Unifor also advised that all Houses of Worship are to remain vigilant against Covid-19 and to take the necessary actions should they find the safety of their premises or members is compromised in any way.
“The easing of Covid-19 restriction by the Federal Government, starting on May 1,
precedes a long holiday in Malaysia.
“We can anticipate more interactions between social circles during holiday and festive seasons. As followers of Christ, it is always our responsibility to ensure the common good and safety of everyone,” he said.