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NATIONAL LOCKDOWN: STAY AT HOME
Following
the recent meeting of the Coronavirus Places of Worship Task
Force there have been some clarifications, particularly
regarding safety and opening of churches. I know this
has been raised as an issue in a number of parishes, where
concern has been expressed as to whether our churches should
remain open during the current lockdown given the very high
rate of infection in certain areas of the Archdiocese.
The main points of the
meeting regarding safety are as follows:
1.
Health professional research to
date indicates that the new virus variant is as well
controlled by social distancing and mitigations as the old.
Further studies are taking place for a more concrete
verification on this matter.
2.
HMG stressed that there would be
no blanket closure of places of worship. They asked
that each Place of Worship should re-evaluate their own
local situation and examine all factors that could affect
the good covid security demonstrated by places of worship so
far. This is to include (but is not limited to):
- Sufficient stewarding and
management of the venue
- Sufficient cleaning after
acts of communal worship
- Maintaining good social
distancing in the space available along with good
ventilation
- Factors affecting travel to
and from the place of worship, such as public
transport
- The length of exposure time
for an act of worship is critical and should be
minimised – anything that is not necessary should be
omitted.
- Those who have gathered for
worship should not mingle before or after the
service outside of the church. They should disperse
immediately.
- All non-essential worship
should be postponed or cancelled (see below)
3.
The officials noted that keeping
covid secure places of worship open for public worship adds
no extra burden to the NHS and provides recognised benefits
for the community.
4.
The task force expressed with
great clarity that the role of the Local Authority is one of
enforcement of closure in particular circumstances on the
basis of evidence of lack of COVID security.
5.
PHE will conduct an exercise in
mapping exposure risks from different venues across the
country for better data.
As I mentioned in
my last email to clergy, I believe it would be a good idea,
at this stage, to review your arrangements, given the
apparent increased danger of transmission of the virus and
the vulnerability of your congregation, those who assist you
and possibly yourselves. You can use your discretion
as to whether, taking into account the availability of
stewards, cleaners etc. or simply for pastoral reasons, you
wish to continue with the existing level of Mass provision
or whether you wish to revise the number of Masses or,
indeed, close the church. As was the case in the first
lockdown, do not feel pressured to do anything that you feel
will put you or anyone else at risk. Although priests
can open their churches they are not obliged to do so.
Your congregation can be reminded that the Sunday obligation
remains suspended and that live-stream Masses are widely
available. Should you decide that the wisest course of
action would be to close the church I would be grateful if
you could inform me, giving your reasons, in order that I
may be able to deal with any enquires that come my way.
The meeting of the Task
Force also considered the question of vaccines, requesting
us to support the roll-out. In addition there are some
further clarifications giving updated guidance for places of
worship and music, which I set out below.
Vaccines and
their roll-out in the Community
-
All faith
communities were asked to encourage and support the
roll-out of the vaccines.
-
There should be explicit encouragement of
community members to take up the offer of vaccines
whenever it is offered to an individual. Evidence
across the country is showing that there is “vaccination
hesitancy” amongst certain groups of people, in
particular the BAME community, because of misinformation
on social media. There was strong encouragement from
HMG to counteract this strongly.
-
In our case, the
fact that Pope Francis will be vaccinated next week
should be stressed along with his own personal
endorsement for vaccination. See
https://www.rt.com/news/512030-pope-francis-covid19-vaccine/
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There was a request
for volunteer support in areas with vaccination
hubs/centres and this should be done through the local
health commissioning groups. There are lots of
different roles that are necessary such as stewarding,
as well as a request for former healthcare workers to
assist in the inoculation programme.
-
HMG published the
Vaccination roll-out plan today. It is found here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/951284/UK_COVID-19_vaccines_delivery_plan.pdf
-
We raised the issue
of vaccination for hospital chaplains and care home
chaplains, as well as clergy in general, and this will
be followed up by email.
Updated
Guidance for Places of Worship
The MHCLG has updated the Places of
Worship Guidance on 11th January which can be
found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-during-the-pandemic-from-4-july/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-from-2-december
The
general approach of the guidance is an extension of the
previous rules in place under Tier 4 in December.
However, it has been amended to reflect the new national
restrictions. These restrictions:
·
require people to stay at home, except for specific
purposes;
·
prevent people gathering with those they do not live with,
except for specific purposes; and,
·
close certain businesses.
Attending a place of worship is
one of the very few legal exemptions that allow larger
numbers to gather in the same venue. To keep
everyone safe, where places of worship choose to open it is
crucial that those attending comply with the law and
COVID-19 Secure guidance.
The following activities are
regarded as activities that should not take place at the
present time in a Place of Worship:
-
Baptisms or other ceremonies which mark
significant life cycle moments but which do not take
place as an established part of normal communal worship
(with the exception of commemorative events that
celebrate the life of a person who has died).
-
Prayer or study groups in person.
-
Lifestyle and leisure/recreational groups such
as craft groups or exercise groups.
-
Amateur choir practice or group bell ringing.
-
Tourism and shops contained within the place
of worship.
In addition to this summary, there
are other key changes:
-
A Revised wording on weddings to highlight the
consideration that is required from those participating
about whether the circumstance is exceptional in order
to proceed at this time.
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Strongly suggesting that singing should only
take place where it is essential to the act of worship,
and should be restricted to professional performance or
those leading the act of worship.
Singing,
chanting and the use of musical instruments
COVID-19
spreads from person to person through small droplets,
aerosols and through direct contact. Singing, playing some
musical instruments, shouting and physical activity
increases the risk of transmission through small droplets
and aerosols. Existing risks increased by new variants of
the virus, mean that additional safeguards should be put in
place to minimise opportunities for the virus to spread:
-
Where singing or chanting is essential to an
act of worship, this should be limited to one person
wherever possible. Exceptionally, where it is essential
to the service, up to three individuals should be
permitted to do so. Strict social distancing should be
observed and the use of Plexi-glass screens should be
considered to protect worshippers, and each other.
-
Communal singing should not take place. This
applies even if social distancing is being observed or
face coverings are used.
-
Chanting, shouting and/or playing of
instruments that are blown into should also be avoided
in communal worship and in rehearsals.
-
Where communal singing plays a big part in
worship, and recordings are available, we suggest you
use these as an alternative to live singing. If a place
of worship hosts a professional group, for rehearsing or
worship, you should follow the performing arts guidance.
-
Avoid playing recorded music at a volume that
may result in people using raised voices or shouting to
communicate when arriving or leaving for worship.
-
Spoken responses during worship should not be
in a raised voice.
Good ventilation
plays a crucial role in reducing transmission. Do what
you can to improve ventilation whenever possible.
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