New Zealand’s Catholic bishops are welcoming the end of vaccine passes and restricted numbers of people allowed at Mass.
The Government announced on Wednesday a 200-person limit for those with a vaccine pass at a religious gathering such as Mass, says a statement from the bishop’s conference.
“It is really welcome that these restrictions are being eased in the middle of Lent and with Easter just over three weeks away.”
“While the bishops supported vaccine passes and similar restrictions when they were introduced last November, we said our support was based on the pandemic emergency as it was at the time,” said Bishop of Auckland, Administrator of Hamilton and Secretary of the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference, Stephen Lowe.
“We are well aware of the toll the emergency measures have taken, with many people experiencing serious and at times unforeseen hardships. With medical experts now telling us the Omicron wave is peaking and starting to reduce in some places, it is good to see some of these restrictions coming to an end.
“However, this is not yet life as normal.
“We know that the virus will continue to have an impact on the way we celebrate in our churches for a while yet.”
The bishops say people gathering inside at a church setting will still need to remain cautious.
“We will need to avoid certain ways of celebrating rituals that might make it easier for infections to spread,” says Lowe.
Source: http://catholic.org.nz/news/media-releases/covid-easing/