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SINGAPORE: Live music may resume at 16 religious organizations starting October 3 as part of a Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) pilot program, while some places of worship may test services for up to 250 people.
Details of further relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions were announced on Saturday (September 26), after authorities said earlier this week that up to 100 attendees will be allowed in all worship services starting on September 3. October, double the current limit of 50.
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Religious organizations that can resume live music must ensure that there are a maximum of 10 musicians or singers on stage, with up to five people unmasked.
If the singing is performed indoors, there can only be two singers unmasked at any one time, MCCY said in a press release.
A safety distance of 1 m is applied to all those who are masked. Those who are unmasked should keep at least 2 m from other people.
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There must also be at least 3 meters between the musicians or singers and the congregation. “If the height of the stage places the musicians / worship team in a higher vantage point, a safe distance of more than 3m is recommended,” MCCY said.
During the service, the congregation must remain masked and can give spoken responses, but not sing.
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The 16 religious organizations and the days on which live music is allowed are:
– Hindu temples: Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple (Thursdays and Saturdays) and Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple (Fridays and Saturdays)
– Churches: St. Joseph’s Church (Bukit Timah), Evangelical Free Covenant Church (Woodlands Center), Blessed Grace Church, Bethesda Church (Bedok-Tampines), Sion Full Gospel Church, New Life Community Church, Christian Church Covenant Vision (Saturdays and Sundays for everyone)
– Gurdwaras: Gurdwara Sahib Yishun, Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Central Sikh Temple (Saturdays and Sundays for everyone)
– Buddhist Temples: Temple of the Buddha Tooth Relic, Singapore Buddhist Lodge (Saturdays and Sundays for all, and the 1st and 15th of the lunar month, when applicable)
– Taoist Temples: Lorong Koo Chye Sheng Hong Temple Association, Hougang Tao Mu Temple (Saturdays and Sundays for all, and the 1st and 15th of the lunar month, when applicable)
These places of worship were identified in consultation with members of the National Steering Committee on Racial and Religious Harmony.
“They reflect the diversity of religious practices and worship settings in Singapore,” MCCY said.
ZONING MEASURES, PILOT TO ALLOW 250 WORSHIPERS
In explaining how the increased limit of 100 attendees to worship services would be implemented, MCCY outlined additional zoning measures.
Places of worship with structured worship services, including churches, mosques and gurdwaras, must establish two zones, each with a capacity of 50 worshipers.
Each zone must be separated by a physical barrier or partition. To avoid interaction between the faithful, each zone should also have separate entrances and exits, or staggered entry and exit times.
Places with “more transient environments of worship”, including Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu temples, should ensure that there are no crowds of worshipers in common areas and prayer rooms. There must be a safe distance between the faithful and there must be no mixing of groups.
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The ministry said the increased limit of 100 people will also apply to non-congregational religious activities, subject to the religious organization’s ability to adhere to safe distancing measures given its physical capacity.
However, the current limit of 30 people for funeral-related activities and 50 people for religious classes will remain.
Selected religious organizations can also participate in a pilot program to increase the number of attendees to 250, consisting of five zones with up to 50 people each.
Beginning Oct. 3, faith-based organizations wishing to participate in this pilot can write to MCCY, provided they have first conducted worship services “safely and consistently” for 100 people, the ministry said.
MCCY added that it will monitor and review the results of the two pilot programs before considering whether to extend the higher limits on the number of worshipers and live music to more religious organizations and religious activities.
All religious and congregational worship services were suspended in March when Singapore tried to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.
They were allowed to resume in June, with up to 50 people at a time, in Phase 2 of the post-Singapore “circuit breaker” reopening.
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