Church of Holy Sepulchre closes amid coronavirus spike

331 Palestinians test positive

By TAMAR URIEL-BEERI
A view of a mass in memory of the late Pope John Paul II in front of the sepulchre in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old city. (photo credit: REUTERS)
A view of a mass in memory of the late Pope John Paul II in front of the sepulchre in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old city.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre shut down again on Friday due to the recent spike in coronavirus cases as 331 Palestinians tested positive for coronavirus that same day.
The church closed on Friday morning as a precautionary measure to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing the church's custodian, Adeeb Joudeh al-Husseini.
No date has been set for the reopening of the church, which was closed for two months and reopened a few weeks ago.
On Friday, five Palestinians died of coronavirus as a second wave of the illness hit the West Bank, as well, where there are 4,977 active patients, according to i24.
A five-day closure was issued by the Palestinian Authority last Friday due to the increasing coronavirus cases in the region. All non-critical businesses were therein shut as residents were instructed to stay at home, much like the Israeli lockdown which took place throughout April.


Related Tags
Church of the Holy Sepulchre