Coronavirus NSW: Our Lady of Lebanon priest’s son revealed as chapel’s virus case
The son of a priest at Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral is a confirmed COVID-19 case, while pictures show that some people still are not taking social distancing seriously.
Parramatta
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Churchgoers stood shoulder to shoulder to receive communion at a weekend mass just hours after a priest’s son, who regularly attends services, tested positive for COVID-19.
The Our Lady of Lebanon co-cathedral in Harris Park underwent a deep clean on Saturday after Father Danny Nour’s son Michael was confirmed to have coronavirus.
But the church welcomed parishioners through its doors just a few hours later for a 6pm mass.
Despite the recent brush with the virus, video of the mass on the Our Lady of Lebanon YouTube channel shows attendees did not follow the 1.5m social distancing rule as communion wafers were offered without the use of gloves or any personal protective equipment.
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Mr Nour said NSW Health had advised the church that it did not need to close. However, it later opted not to open on Sunday as a “precautionary measure only”.
His son contracted the virus after attending the Thai Rock Restaurant at Wetherill Park earlier this month.
A spokeswoman for the church claimed the cathedral was “compliant with the COVID-19 Safety Plans for Places of Worship” issued by the NSW government.
Meanwhile, late night revellers appeared to thumb their noses at the 1.5m guidelines, forming close groups outside venues on Saturday in some of the city’s most popular precincts, ignoring clear signs and directions from bouncers to stay apart.
Images taken by The Daily Telegraph show Sydneysiders crowding outside pubs, despite a massive increase in coronavirus numbers in Victoria and the Crossroads Hotel outbreak in NSW.
Florist worker Jessica, 19, of Parramatta, attended the Argyle in the Rocks on Saturday night and said people were not obeying the rules at some venues.
“I noticed people are … hugging and kissing and jumping on each other even though you can tell they’re not family,” she said.
“We were in lockdown for like three months (and we’re risking) all that going down the drain because of stupid people.”
Outside Frankie’s Pizza in the CBD, young revellers were photographed cramming into an outdoor smoking section, while outside the Royal Oak in Double Bay a security guard repeatedly told people to stay away from each other while lining up.
It comes two weeks after photos emerged of mass queues outside the nearby Golden Sheaf. But on Saturday night a doorman at the pub was wearing a jacket saying “COVID champion” on the back.
A spokeswoman for Rockpool Dining Group which owns the Argyle said they had signs visible to guests reminding them to social distance, saying: “In addition, we had three COVID marshals on duty helping to reinforce social distancing requirements.’’