{"id":352,"date":"2020-02-14T20:01:13","date_gmt":"2020-02-15T00:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/?p=352"},"modified":"2020-07-22T15:05:11","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T19:05:11","slug":"faqs-suspension-mass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/2020\/02\/14\/faqs-suspension-mass\/","title":{"rendered":"FAQs on the Suspension of Mass (Singapore)"},"content":{"rendered":"

About Covid-19<\/span><\/h4>\n
1. What are coronaviruses?<\/h5>\n

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses causing illnesses ranging from the common cold to pneumonia (a more severe lung infection). There are now 7 types of coronaviruses which cause disease in humans: 4 cause common cold; 2 cause serious disease (SARS, MERS); the latest coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) causes COVID-19 disease.<\/p>\n

2. What are the symptoms of COVID-19?<\/h5>\n

Fever and cough are the most common symptoms. Other symptoms include sore throat and\u00a0fatigue. Symptoms can be mild and fever may be absent or occur later during the illness, and\u00a0many cases are similar to the common cold. Breathlessness is a more serious and severe\u00a0symptom.<\/p>\n

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3. How does COVID-19 spread?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
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Current evidence suggests that COVID-19 is mostly spread via droplets. The virus is carried\u00a0within droplets emitted from an infected person over a short distance (<1m), such as when\u00a0the person coughs, sneezes, or talks or sings loudly. If these droplets come into contact with\u00a0the eyes, nose or mouth of another person, be it through direct inoculation or indirect contact\u00a0with hands that have come into contact with these droplets, the other person may become\u00a0infected.<\/p>\n

Prolonged close contact with infected persons is generally required. The cases in Singapore\u00a0are predominantly household clusters, or in closed settings (e.g. shared meals, Grace\u00a0Assembly of God). More than 1,000 suspect cases have been tested negative.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the virus may survive outside the body for 2-3 days, depending on the\u00a0climate\/environmental conditions.<\/p>\n

Therefore, members of the public are advised to remain vigilant and observe good personal\u00a0hygiene, frequent hand washing, and avoid touching contaminated surfaces then touching\u00a0their face.<\/p>\n

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4. Can COVID-19 be spread via airborne transmission?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
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Airborne transmission means that infectious droplets are much smaller, remain suspended in\u00a0the air and thus can travel much further distances. If that were the case, we would have\u00a0observed many, many more cases. This is not supported by the current pattern of spread seen\u00a0in Singapore. More than 1,000 suspect cases have tested negative.<\/p>\n

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5. Can the virus be transmitted even when a carrier is asymptomatic? Would this mean that you can catch the virus from people in church even if they don\u2019t have symptoms?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
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The risk is much less likely as the people who have no symptoms would not be coughing or\u00a0sneezing to produce respiratory droplets. In addition, there is no good evidence of such\u00a0spread from cases in Singapore, China or other countries. Otherwise, we would expect to have\u00a0many more \u201cunlinked\u201d cases. In Singapore, no contact exposed during the pre-symptomatic\u00a0stage has been infected so far.<\/p>\n

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6. Is the disease deadly? How is this compared to SARS?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
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The situation is evolving and many characteristics of the virus and how it may affect people\u00a0are still unclear.<\/p>\n

Asymptomatic and mild cases may not be reported. Taking a conservative 1:1 ratio of\u00a0reported to unreported cases, most cases (>90%) are asymptomatic or mild. After about a\u00a0week of mild illness, some persons (<10%) develop lung infection with some breathlessness.<\/p>\n

Some of these cases (<2%) worsen and require care in the Intensive Care Unit.\u00a0The overall fatality rate may be less than 1%. In comparison, SARS had a fatality rate of about\u00a09.6%.<\/p>\n

The highest fatality rate is found in persons >80 years of age; the lowest fatality rate is found\u00a0in persons <40 years of age. There has been no fatality reported in children <10 years old so\u00a0far.<\/p>\n

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7. What treatment is available for affected persons?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
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Most of those affected in Singapore only need symptomatic and\/or supportive treatment (e.g.\u00a0oxygen supplementation), and have full recovery within 2 weeks.<\/p>\n

A few cases with severe disease have been given an antiviral drug used for HIV treatment as\u00a0part of a trial. These seem to have positive outcomes, but will require further study and\u00a0research. Other drugs are also being studied.<\/p>\n

About the Sunday Obligation<\/h4>\n
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8. What exactly is the Sunday obligation?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Catholics are obliged to assist at Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation (Canon 1247). When this is not possible for a grave reason, \u201cthe faithful are strongly recommended to take part in a liturgy of the Word\u2026celebrated in accordance with the provisions laid down by the diocesan Bishop; or to spend an appropriate time in prayer, whether personally or as a family or, as occasion presents, in a group of families.\u201d (Canon 1248)<\/p>\n

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9. Since Masses are suspended, am I sinning because I cannot attend Mass?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
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No. One basic principle of Canon Law is that no one is obliged to do the impossible. You have not sinned if:<\/p>\n