Collective Worship: Coronavirus

(asked on 21st June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether covid-19 guidance for places of worship will be updated to allow congregations to sing with masks on, similar to those provisions made in the Welsh Government's new covid-19 guidance, from 21 June 2021 as covid-19 restrictions are eased.


Answered by
Eddie Hughes Portrait
Eddie Hughes
This question was answered on 24th June 2021

Places of worship play an important role in providing spiritual leadership and bringing communities together, however their communal nature makes them particularly vulnerable to the spread of coronavirus.

Congregational singing is under restrictions due to the increased risk of transmission through small droplets and aerosols. This means that those partaking in these activities are at higher risk of transmitting the virus and thus, spreading infection even if the individual is vaccinated.

On 17 May we entered step 3 on the Prime Minister’s roadmap, reintroducing indoor singing in a place of worship for a performance or rehearsal, for a group up to 6 amateur signers. This is in line with all amateur choirs and singing groups. Outdoors, the congregation may join in with singing in multiple groups of up to 30. Congregation members should continue to follow social distancing rules.

Public health is a devolved matter in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and so many of the health measures implemented across the UK in response to Covid-19 fall within the competence of the devolved administrations. There are currently no plans to allow congregational singing with masks on to resume before Step 4 of the roadmap in England, which would be no earlier than 19 July.

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