Following lockdown rules a 'moral obligation', says Bombay Archbishop

Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, has said that following the government's direction with regard to the national lockdown in wake of the coronavirus outbreak is a "moral obligation".

"Whatever the government decides, we must observe what the government tells us. If we have got to stay indoors, we have to stay indoors not only for our own protection, but as a moral obligation to protect others," he said in his sermon on the occasion of Good Friday.

"We have got to work together," he added.

Cardinal Gracias is also the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India.

He paid tribute to all the healthcare workers who were risking their lives in order to fight the virus.

He said, "We pay tribute to the great volunteers who are sacrificing themselves on the frontline -- our doctors, nurses, attendants and scientists who are doing research."

He also paid tribute to the civic authorities saying, "I also want to pay tribute to the civic authorities -- the police who are trying to keep people at home for our own good. So, we realise that we need one another, we need God."

With 92 more COVID-19 positive cases reported in Maharashtra, the total number of positive coronavirus cases in the state rose to 1,666, the Maharashtra Health Department informed on Saturday.