The Government has issued new guidance to allow more than 50 people attend religious services in large churches, but it has been met with a mixed reaction.
For each church, an assessment will have to be carried out to determine how many can attend while social distancing. Premises will have to be subdivided into distinct sections, either by cordons or other markings, with a maximum of 50 people in each section. There must be a minimum of 4m between those sections and there can be strictly no movement of people between sections before, during or after the service.
Each area must have its own entrance or exit route and there must be separate arrangements for elements of the service involving close contact, such as for the distribution of Holy Communion. The premises will also need to be well-ventilated. Those providing religious services will also be asked to ensure that there are staggered exit times for the congregation. The use of face coverings in such indoor settings will also be “strongly recommended”.
Catholic Archbishops Diarmuid Martin of Dublin and Michael Neary of Tuam welcomed the new coronavirus guidance.
Nonetheless, dozens of churches decided to remain closed because of the restrictions. Many parishes feel the new arrangements are very complex and will pose problems in the area of access to and from the buildings, and place a demand for even more stewards.
“We had the building ready to open under the present guidelines,” Fr John Deignan, parish priest at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Athlone, pointed out.
“Now we will have to go back and look at the new restrictions, which are going to mean setting up different zones within the building and of course this will lead to the need for more volunteers to help people come in and leave the building safely.”
Meanwhile, the majority of pubs in Cork have opted not to re-open until July 20th citing “unenforceable” regulations that “Only a civil servant’ could have come up with”.
