Coronavirus: Priests give communion with shared spoon as Romania outbreak spreads
President Klaus Iohannis brings in travel restrictions and night-time curfew
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A video of priests in Romania giving communion with a shared spoon has emerged, as the coronavirus outbreak in the country worsens.
The footage, taken in the Romanian city of Cluj on Sunday, shows queues of worshippers lining up to receive the sacrament from Orthodox priests.
This came amid worries over the rising number of coronavirus infections in the country.
According to Euronews, Bogdan Tanase, head of Romania’s Doctors’ Alliance, responded by saying: “Many priests have not understood what this is about, and given the fact that they didn’t have an order from the Patriarch they proceeded as usual.
“It will have an impact. If you have 100 people, the probability that one is infected is high.”
As part of the “exceptional measures” it introduced in late February, the Romanian Orthodox Church had allowed worshippers to bring their own spoons to services.
However, using separate spoons was not mandatory.
Earlier this week, the church decided to stop the public gathering for services, instead choosing to stream them online and on television.
Klaus Iohannis, the Romanian president, has restricted people’s movement during the day and has ordered people over the age of 65 to remain indoors.
These measures to slow the spread of the disease were announced on Tuesday and came into effect on Wednesday.
A countrywide night-time curfew began on Monday and is expected to remain through the month-long state of emergency.
As of Wednesday, Romania has confirmed 794 coronavirus cases and 12 deaths as a result of the illness.
Additional reporting from Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments