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MCCY to pilot increased limit for worship services from 7 August 2020

Sectors

Community

3 August 2020

As part of the gradual resumption of religious activities, MCCY will pilot an increase in limit for congregational and other worship services, from 50 persons to 100 persons in some places of worship.

  1. As part of the gradual resumption of religious activities, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) will pilot an increase in limit for congregational and other worship services, from 50 persons to 100 persons in some places of worship.

  2. From 7 August 2020, 12 religious organisations (ROs) (listed in Annex A [PDF, 120 KB]) will be allowed to accommodate up to 100 persons at any one time for congregational and other worship services, with necessary precautions in place to safeguard public health. This pilot will include the implementation of two zones of up to 50 persons each for congregational and other worship services in 9 of the 12 ROs1.

  3. MCCY has consulted religious leaders, who are also members of the National Steering Committee (NSC) on Racial and Religious Harmony2, to identify the ROs for the pilot. The pilot sites reflect the diversity of religious practices and worship settings in Singapore. The participating ROs must have first safely conducted congregational and other worship services for up to 50 persons under the guidelines for Phase Two.

    Increased limits with additional safe management measures

  4. Under this pilot, participating ROs will be allowed to have up to 100 persons at a time for congregational and other worship services.

  5. Besides the prevailing safe management measures introduced at the start of Phase Two3 (see Annex B [PDF, 119 KB]), the pilot ROs will have to put in place additional measures to keep the larger group of worshippers COVID-safe, taking into account the different worship practices: 

    a) Churches, mosques and gurdwaras: Establish two zones, each accommodating up to 50 worshippers, for the worship service.  In worship settings where religious services are structured / seated, these zones will help to minimise interactions between worshippers. Each zone has to be separated by a physical partition or barrier. Worshippers must maintain a safe distance from one another at all times. To avoid interaction between worshippers across zones, there should also be separate entrances and exits or staggered entry and exit timings for each zone.

    b) Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu temples: Safe management measures include ensuring no crowding or bunching of worshippers at common areas and in the prayer halls, no mingling between groups, and safe distancing between worshippers.

  6. ROs participating in this pilot must submit their updated Safe Management Plans (SMPs)4 to MCCY at least three days before commencing the pilot. MCCY will assess how well the participating ROs implement the required safe management measures to provide a safe environment for their worshippers, before deciding on whether to increase the limit on the number of worshippers for other ROs.

1 They are: Masjid Assyafaah, Masjid Mujahidin, Masjid Al-Istighfar, Masjid Al-Iman, St Andrew’s Cathedral, Jurong Christian Church, Amazing Grace Presbyterian Church, Sengkang Methodist Church and Central Sikh Temple.

2 The NSC, chaired by the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, is a national platform to build understanding and trust at the top level of community, government and faith leaders. Its members comprise the apex leaders from the major faith and ethnic groups.

3 https://www.cpro.gov.sg/resources/resumption-of-religious-activities/

4 The document is accessible at www.cpro.gov.sg

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