Number of worshippers at 12 sites to double
From this Friday, 12 religious organisations will be allowed to hold worship services with up to 100 people at a time, double the current limit of 50.
Four mosques, four churches, two Hindu temples, a Buddhist temple and a gurdwara will be part of a pilot test by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) as it looks to gradually resume religious activities here.
MCCY said yesterday it had consulted religious leaders to identify the pilot sites, which reflect the diversity of religious practices and worship settings.
The mosques identified are Masjid Assyafaah in Sembawang, Masjid Mujahidin in Queenstown, Masjid Al-Istighfar in Pasir Ris and Masjid Al-Iman in Bukit Panjang.
Only Friday prayers at the mosques will be part of the pilot.
The churches are St Andrew's Cathedral, Jurong Christian Church, Amazing Grace Presbyterian Church and Sengkang Methodist Church, where the pilot will be only on weekends.
This is the same at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery and the Central Sikh Temple.
At Sri Mariamman Temple, only Friday services will be part of the pilot, and at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, it will apply only to Saturday services.
The places of worship must have first been proven to have safely conducted services under the guidelines for phase two of Singapore's reopening.
Worship services were allowed to resume from June 26, with a limit of 50 people and other measures such as worshippers keeping 1m apart and wearing face masks at all times.
Religious organisations participating in the new pilot must impose additional measures.
Churches, mosques and gurdwaras - where congregations are seated or services more structured - must have two separate zones of up to 50 people each.
PHYSICAL BARRIER
The zones must be separated by a physical partition or barrier, and must have separate entrances and exits, or staggered entry and exit timings.
Meanwhile, Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu temples, which have less structured services, will have to ensure there is no crowding or bunching at common areas and in the prayer halls.
The 12 selected religious organisations must submit updated safe management plans at least three days before hosting their first worship sessions.
MCCY will assess how well they implement the required measures before deciding whether to increase the limit for other sites.
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