Philippines Catholics brave COVID-19 threat to celebrate Palm Sunday

Dozens of Catholics in the Philippines braved the threat of coronavirus on Sunday to attend a mass outside a church in Manila to celebrate Palm Sunday, marking the beginning of the Holy Week.

Wearing face masks and observing physical distancing to protect themselves from COVID-19, they waved their palm fronds as the priest sprinkled holy water on them.

Religious gatherings will be banned from Monday until Easter to comply with stricter quarantine restrictions the Philippine government reimposed in the capital and nearby provinces to slow the sharp rise in COVID-19 infections.

A devotee wears a face mask and face shield to prevent the spread of the coronavirus as he attends a Palm Sunday mass.

About 80% of people in the Philippines are Catholic.

People wearing face masks as protection against the COVID-19 raise palm fronds during a Palm Sunday mass outside the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Paranaque.

At the St. Peter Parish in Quezon City, candles were attached to empty pews to represent parishioners taking part in Palm Sunday celebrations outside the church or online.

A man wearing a face mask and a face shield as protection against COVID-19 holds palm fronds during a Palm Sunday mass.

Devotees wearing face masks and face shields to prevent the spread of the coronavirus attends a Palm Sunday mass.

The Philippines is battling a renewed surge in infections, including those of the new and more transmissible variants, prompting the government to tighten existing curbs in the capital and nearby provinces.

Coronavirus cases and deaths in the Philippines totalled 721,892 and 13,170, the second highest in Southeast Asia, with infections reported in the past nine days accounting for a tenth of the total.