SINGAPORE — From next Friday (June 26), places of worship here will be able to resume congregational and other types of worship services — starting with up to 50 people at a time.

The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), in an advisory posted on its website on Thursday, said that places of worship should adhere to safe management measures.

Among others, worshippers are expected to observe a 1m safe distance between themselves if they are praying individually while those in groups of no more than five people should observe the same distance with other groups.

Places of worship must also keep their services to “as short a duration as possible”, MCCY said, adding that worshippers should leave immediately after the completion of their prayers.

“There should be no reception or mingling between worshippers, before, during or after each worship service,” MCCY said.

All worshippers have to wear a mask at all times, while those who are involved in the conduct of the worship service — such as preachers, prayer leader or scripture reader — may wear a face shield when performing their speaking duties.

“(They) must be at least 1m away from any other individual,” MCCY said.

Singing and other live performances are not permitted during the worship service, MCCY added.

The ministry said: “Singing is considered a higher risk activity as it could potentially release a larger amount of droplets. Places of worship may consider alternatives to singing and other live performance components in their worship services.”

It added that there should be no sharing of items as this increases the risk of Covid-19 transmission.

Worshippers are to bring along their personal prayer items instead where required, MCCY said.

It added that places of worship with reduced air circulation — such as those in enclosed prayer spaces or air-conditioned worship halls — should, where possible, open doors and windows to naturally ventilate the space after use.

MCCY said that it hopes to “gradually increase the congregation limit beyond the 50 people at a later time” if the Covid-19 community transmission remains low and stable, and if religious organisations are able to implement the safe management measures.

It added that in the event that congregations are allowed to exceed 50 people, worshippers have to be divided into zones holding no more than 50 persons each.

“As there should be no mingling of individuals across zones, these zones have to be clearly demarcated and separated by barriers or partitions, with separate points of entry and exit or staggered arrival and departure timings,” MCCY said, adding that it will provide further guidance when “we are ready to allow larger congregations”.

SAFE CAPACITY IN THE PLACE OF WORSHIP

In its advisory, MCCY said that all permitted types of religious activities — such as marriage solemnisations as well as wakes and funerals — can take place concurrently at the place of worship subject to a total cap of 50 people, and only if these activities can be conducted safely at separate locations within the place of worship.

MCCY pointed out that this total cap of 50 people refers to the combined number of those participating in the various permitted activities — excluding the congregational and other worship activities — on the premises at any one time.

It also excludes the religious and supporting workers on hand.

The ministry added that there must be sufficient signs and directions to guide the different parties so that they do not interact or meet each other when entering, exiting or while in the premises.

MCCY, however, urged religious organisations to reduce the different types of activities when congregational and other worship services are ongoing.

“(This is) so that there is a smaller total number of people on the premises at any one time, which will help to minimise the risk of large clusters from forming,” MCCY said.

At the same time, the ministry said that the religious organisations must establish a “one-way flow for the entry and exit points for all the permitted activities” and manage the arrival of their worshippers to avoid queues from forming.

RELIGIOUS ORGANISATIONS TO SUBMIT THEIR SAFE MANAGEMENT PLANS TO MCCY

MCCY said that all religious organisations must submit their safe management plans — including their manpower deployment — to the ministry at least three days before commencing their Phase Two activities.

The detailed requirements and format for submitting these plans can be found here.

MCCY said it reserves the right to suspend a religious organisation’s activities if there are gaps in the plans submitted and until the necessary rectifications are made.

“Should there be any confirmed Covid-19 cases linked to a religious organisation’s premises or place of worship, the premises may be closed for a period of time as determined by the authorities,” MCCY cautioned.

Commenting on the gradual resumption of religious services, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said in a Facebook post that the last few months have “highlighted how religiously diverse we are as a society”.

“Looking back, we had to observe Qing Ming, Good Friday, Vesak Day, and Hari Raya Puasa very differently this year. It is not uncommon to see different places of worship in the same locality. It is not out of the ordinary for our religious leaders to work together for the common good,” said Mr Heng.

He added: “Religious harmony is not something that readily happens in other parts of the world. It is not something that we should take for granted. Diversity is our strength. Especially in a crisis, we must focus on what we have in common, and work together. Only then, can we emerge stronger as a society from this crisis.”