PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — At many churches, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are expected to attract large crowds for their services, but there may be some confusion on COVID-19 protection measures, as churches are not supposed to have different masking and vaccination guidelines than what the city mandates.
The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, just off Ben Franklin Parkway, is one of Philadelphia's iconic locations to attend Christmas Mass. Fr. Dennis Gill, the basilica's rector, said there are Masses at 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m. (bilingual, English and Spanish) and midnight on Christmas Eve, and 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon on Christmas Day. Some of them will be live-streamed.
"There is no need to show proof of vaccination; however, everyone is to make sure as much as possible to make sure that they are in good health," he said.
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Fr. Gill also said face coverings are strongly recommended, which is different from the city's official guideline that masks are mandatory if vaccination status is not being checked.
"No one wants to give someone COVID-19 for Christmas," said James Garrow of the Philadelphia Health Department.
With many churches not checking vaccination status at the door, Garrow said other precautions need to be taken, like wearing masks as per city guidelines, and getting vaccinated.
"Just because an institution or a business isn't requiring masks, that doesn't preclude them from wearing masks," said Garrow.
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"Enforcement for the indoor mask mandate requires an inspection by one of our health inspectors. I can't imagine that the health department would go and shut down a church service because they weren't requiring masks."
Yet Garrow explained why the city is so adamant about those indoor mask mandates.
"Comparing the case counts and the case rates in Philadelphia to the surrounding counties that don't have those mask mandates, Philadelphia has consistently had the lowest case rate in the entire region," said Garrow.
"We attribute that to our indoor mask mandate, so we know it works."
Garrow said that while gathering for the holiday is discouraged, he said the city is allowing churches to stay open through Christmas.
"Our messaging right now is focusing on helping people who choose to attend these types of gatherings on ways that they can reduce their risk, and wearing masks and being fully vaccinated are number 1 and number 1a in how they can protect themselves," said Garrow.
"We certainly haven't set any official restrictions on gatherings or implemented any density limits."
Fr. Gill said church capacity at the basilica is about 900 people, but they have overflow seating and will be able to accommodate all who want to be there.
"I think with the fact that so many people are vaccinated and also feeling rather safe in going out and assembling, that we'll have good size congregations."
Fr. Gill is asking church-goers to be mindful of COVID-19 cases and act accordingly to stay healthy.
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"The fact that we have new variants as far as COVID-19 is a concern to all of us, and it reminds all of us to take all the precautions personally and corporately to prevent the spread of COVID-19," said Fr. Gill.
"The Church would encourage every Catholic of being mindful of doing what he or she can do, personally and with others, to prevent the spread of the virus."
Fr. Gill very strongly encourages that everyone who comes to Mass at the basilica wears a face covering, except for receiving Communion.
Garrow said the city's indoor mask mandate is very specific about when people are eating or drinking.
"This applies in restaurant settings and it also applies to Communion," said Garrow.
He says people should wear a mask indoors.
"There's no reason folks can't walk to the front of the church with their mask on, receive the host and put their mask back on," said Garrow.
He also recommends that if you gather with people whose vaccination status is unknown, you should double mask. That means wearing a paper surgical mask underneath a cloth mask.
He encouraged people to assess their risk level first, before choosing to gather in any setting for the holidays.
"We saw the number of cases shoot up pretty significantly after Thanksgiving, so we know that people got together on Thanksgiving and spread COVID to their friends and family members," said Garrow.
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"This is not a new surprise to people that getting together with other folks can spread COVID, so that's why it's our recommendation that folks take a look at their risk and understand that we are in a very dangerous part of the pandemic and make decisions based upon that."
Garrow warns of what could happen in the two weeks after Christmas and New Year's Day.
"Moving forward, we are going to keep an eye on the number of case counts. If people choose to gather and not wear masks and not take any of the precautions, we would expect to see an even-further rise in cases a few days after Christmas," he said.
"Dr. (Cheryl) Bettigole," said Garrow of the city's health commissioner, "has made the strong recommendation that folks not gather."
Click here for the Cathedral Basilica's website, which includes live stream links for their Christmas Eve 5 p.m. and midnight Masses and their Christmas Day noon Mass.