Members of the same household should be allowed share a church pew under new guidelines for public worship published by the Church of Ireland.
Otherwise social distancing must be observed and, where expected attendance may exceed safety limits, parishes are asked to implement a booking system or to turn people away once capacity is reached.
Where the layout of a church allows, separate doors should be designated for entering and leaving the building and, where possible, seats should be filled in order, starting with those furthest from the entrance.
Seating should be clearly arranged to preserve social distancing, accepting that this may limit attendance. Worshippers are also advised to avoid any bottlenecks on entering or leaving churches and not to congregate in the church car or at church doors.
Face coverings should be used with others with due regard to people such as asthmatics for whom face coverings may not be inadvisable. In such cases it recommends that Government advice be followed.
It is pointed out that stewarding may be required to assist with seating in the churches and that it may not be practical for people to sit in their regular seats/pew if the stewards operate a first-come-first-seated system.
Tissues
Ministers should avoid moving around among the congregation during the service with social distancing rules applying during services. As singing may increase the spread of Covid-19 it said further guidance was being sought on that and would be issued in due course.
Musical instruments should not be shared during a service nor should there be a physical exchange of peace. Lesson readers should avoid touching the fixed microphone on the lectern, while the number of readers should be limited.
In general shorter services would be preferred as transmission of Covid-19 is related to duration of contact.
Collections should be contactless or by standing order with no plate collections. Post-service tea and coffee should not take place.
Hand sanitisers should be supplied at church entrances and exits with tissues supplied in all pews. Churchgoers should also be “strongly advised” to bring their own tissues with bins provided for these.
Where churches have been closed for a lengthy period, deep-cleaning may not be necessary prior to reopening, it said, but warned against “the potential risk posed by legionella which may be present in stagnant water in buildings that have been closed for a prolonged period.”
