WARSAW (Reuters) – Thousands of Polish pilgrims were on Thursday heading to the most sacred and decidedly Catholic place in the country, ignoring the knowledge of COVID-19 infection that forced the government to tighten restrictions in some counties.
Daily instances exceeded 8003 times last week, above previous levels, leading the government to cancel the primaries and urge Poles to take credit for the sun to stick to the patterns of social estrangement and hygiene.
Singing songs and carrying banners, other people gathered at the Jasna Gora monastery in the southern city of Czestochowa, where the icon of the Black Virgin of Czestochowa has been respected by pilgrims since the Middle Ages.
The supper of the Assumption, marked by Catholics as the day jesus’ mother Mary ascended to heaven falls on August 15.
Additional measures implemented this year come with volunteers disinfecting surfaces and stalls that provide loose hand disinfectant.
“Pilgrims can come to us and get a loose mask if they forgot to wear it, they can drink water and measure their temperature,” Marta, a volunteer at a post near the road in Czestochowa, told personal TVN.
It is estimated that 16,000 pilgrims will arrive at the monastery in August, according to Polish news firm PAP.
Some separated into small organizations, each traveling through a segment of the itinerary for a day before returning home and letting another organization make the journey, to the crowds.
However, there are considerations that this year’s occasion can lead to an increase in cases in the city of more than 220,000 people. Epidemics in Malaysia, South Korea and the United States have followed the meetings.
“The mayor has appealed to the pilgrims to Czestochowa, but next year,” said Rafal Kusal, director of Czestochowa’s crisis control department.
“They are welcome, but the recent accumulation of cases can lead to outbreaks of infection in the city.”
Written through Alan Charlish; edited through Philippa Fletcher
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