The new directives were issued by the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Martins, and part of the measures he reeled out was that handshaking during Mass as Sign of Peace would no longer be allowed for the time being.

“During this season of Lent, in order to reduce the number of gatherings in Church to the barest necessary, we encourage people to do Stations of the Cross privately on Wednesdays while public celebrations will take place only Fridays especially as it is often followed by Mass,” he added.

According to him, receiving of holy Communion in mouth will not be accepted but each member would be given in their palms. The catholic church also encouraged members to ensure prompt use of sanitizers.

The Catholic Archbishop further directed that clergies in their churches should suspend the use of Holy Water fonts in churches till further notice.