A message from our vicar on 14 July 2022:

We haven't needed a Covid update for church precautions for a long while. There are no new measures in place, this just serves as a reminder of the current situation.

As of today we are at the highest rate of Covid infections ever in the country with 350,000 new infections every day, and 1 in every 15 people currently Covid positive. Hospitalisations are going up, but Covid related deaths continue to decline. Covid symptoms are very similar to a common cold or cough, and if you have any of these symptoms it is now more likely that you have Covid than that you have a cold. The effects are no longer particularly serious, but re-infection is common with 3 or 4 active strains of Covid at the moment.

Churches are well ventilated (i.e. draughty!) and things are generally back to normal and safe. At communion we are continuing to have a drop of wine placed on each consecrated wafer so that people can receive both kinds at once, safely. The chalice is also available in most communion services for those who wish to receive from it.

Thanks once again to all for vigilance and dedication to service when it was needed, and for looking after one another as we have returned to normality. It may pay to be just a little more careful at the moment, but there are no special guidelines and hopefully those will remain in the past.