S. Korean Catholic Church suspends Masses amid coronavirus outbreaks

SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Catholic Church has decided to suspend all public Masses across the country, the first such decision in the church's 236-year history, to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

All 16 dioceses of the Catholic Church made the decision since the dioceses of Daegu, the southeastern city hit hardest by COVID-19 outbreaks, first suspended its public Mass a week earlier, the church said Wednesday.

South Korea had reported 1,261 confirmed cases of the new virus, including 12 deaths, as of 4 p.m.

pbr@yna.co.kr
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