IATF allows 30% capacity for religious events in NCR Plus areas

The government’s COVID-19 task force has raised the seating capacity for religious gatherings to 30% in NCR Plus and other areas, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Friday.

Guevarra said the new policy was approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on Thursday following the churches’ request.

This will be implemented until May 31.

“This applies to all religious faiths, sects, and denominations,” Guevarra said.

Earlier, the government imposed a 10% venue capacity limit for religious gatherings to curb the spread of the virus.

Gatherings for necrological services, wakes, inurnment, funerals for those who died of causes other than COVID-19 shall be allowed, the IATF said, provided that it shall be limited to immediate family members, and with full compliance with the prescribed minimum public health standards for the duration of the activity.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier placed Metro Manila and nearby provinces Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna — collectively known as the NCR Plus — under GCQ with heightened restrictions from May 15 to May 31. —LBG, GMA News