Pune: Not More Than 50 People In Church For Mass; PMC Issues Guidelines For Celebrating Christmas

Mehab Qureshi

Pune, December 24, 2020: While Christmas is a day far, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for celebrating the festival in the wake of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The guidelines states:

1. Christmas Mass should be held in the church in presence of a maximum of 50 people. Special care should be taken to ensure that the church is not crowded and social distancing is maintained.

2. Disinfectants should be sprayed in the church. It is also important to pay special attention to the use of masks and sanitisers.

3. Appropriate measures should be taken to observe the rules of social distancing and hygiene in the church on Christmas day. The church should include a maximum of 10 choristers to sing the choir. At that time, the use of different microphones should be followed in compliance with social distancing norms.

4. Shops/stalls should not be set up outside or around the church.

5. Citizens above 60 years of age, as well as children below 10 years of age, should avoid going out of the house as much as possible for safety and health reasons and the festival should be celebrated at home. Organisers should make arrangements for online masses for them.

6. Don’t gather in large numbers in public places or on the streets or avoid crowds.

7. Religious and cultural programs or processions should not be organised in such a way as to attract crowds in any way. No fireworks allowed. Strict adherence to rules and regulations regarding noise pollution.

8. The Thanksgiving Mass to be held in the church on December 31, should be planned to be held at or before 07:00 pm, not at midnight.

9. It is mandatory to follow these guidelines or strict action will be taken against violators.