Churches Slowly Begin To Open In The QC

According to The Quad Cities Times, churches in the Diocese of Davenport will reopen next week for private prayer first.

Diocese of Davenport went on to say,

"The process of reopening the churches and resuming public Masses will occur in three steps. It will be
based on a review of data from the Iowa Department of Public Health that considers a downward trend
in the number of new cases, of deaths, of COVID-19 patients admitted per day in hospitals, the
percentage of positive tests, and the reproduction rate. Details for the celebration of sacraments and
funerals are provided in a separate document. All Catholics in the Diocese of Davenport are dispensed
from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass until further notice."

You can find those three steps here. 

Bishop Thomas Zinkula is hoping that the process of reopening the churches for private prayer and resuming the celebration of public Masses will be reasonable, responsible and gradual.

One of the main points is that everyone must wear face protection. No more than 10 people may be in the church at any one time.

In a press release for their reopening Zinkula stated,

"The desire of the faithful for Communion – with Christ in the Eucharist and with each other in person – is
sacred and holy. Hopefully, we can return relatively soon to the public celebration of the Mass and their
longing will be fulfilled. Until then, we will continue to stay close to the Lord and one another by means
of personal prayer."

They are taking this very seriously, and want to keep everyone safe. The release ends,

"Once there is “herd immunity” – probably through the wide availability of a safe and effective vaccine –
there will be a return to “normal” liturgical practices, initially with the kind of precautions taken during
the flu season."