Covid-19 prompts drive-through pet blessing in Philippines on World Animal Day
1 min read.Updated: 05 Oct 2020, 09:29 AM IST
Reuters
From a safe distance inside their owners' cars, cats, dogs, and birds were sprinkled with holy water by a Catholic priest in Manila on World Animal Day 2020.
Coronavirus-wary animal owners in the Philippines had their pets blessed via a drive-through ceremony on Sunday to mark World Animal Day and the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
From a safe distance inside their owners' cars, cats, dogs, and birds were sprinkled with holy water by a Catholic priest in Manila, as the nation's coronavirus cases continued to surge.
The Philippines has recorded a total of 322,497 coronavirus infections, the highest in Southeast Asia.
A Catholic priest sprinkles holy water on a cat at a drive-thru pet blessing amid the coronavirus disease. (REUTERS)
Organisers and participants said this year's unusual way of blessing pets for World Animal Day, celebrated worldwide to recognise animal rights and welfare, ensured social distancing.
"We have to adapt to the new normal and the pandemic should never stop us from paying tribute to the furry animals that we have," said Ritchie Pascual, one of the event organisers.