MASKS are now mandatory once again in places of worship in England, after the Government tightened its response to the threat of the omicron Covid variant, its so-called “Plan B”.The publication of the new regulations on Thursday confirmed that communal worship is exempt from the requirement to ask for Covid passes, which, from next Wednesday, will apply to indoor venues with a capacity of more than 500 unseated people. Weddings and funerals are also exempt, though there is less clarity about concerts and any other unseated events.Mask-wearing in church, however, has become mandatory until further notice, unless an individual falls into an exempt category, such as a child under 11 or someone with a physical or mental illness or impairment or disability.Masks may legally be removed once in church, however, if leading a service or reading. The regulations also state that face coverings may be removed “when it is reasonably necessary . . . to sing including singing as part of a choir, or during a service or rehearsal, or for performance”.By and large, the guidance continues to place responsibility for decision-making on individual incumbents. “Incumbents should feel empowered to make locally appropriate decisions, including taking different approaches to different types of services and events where the risks may vary.”This, however, does not extend to asking congregants or visitors to prove that they have been vaccinated. This is not a requirement, the guidance says, “nor is it appropriate. . . We do not know by how much the vaccine stops coronavirus from spreading.”
The Bishop of Hertford writes:It’s amazing to salute all that’s been achieved in the last year of COVID vaccinations in the UK.Yet even as we give thanks for this success, the arrival of Omicron - a variant of the virus that was first identified thousands of miles away, has underlined once again that caring for everyone’s health, wherever they may be, is not just a matter of justice, it’s also in our own self interest.Every time a person is infected with COVID around the world, the probability increases that new mutations of the virus will happen and make it to our shores.Such variants, like Omicron, carry the risk of being able to evade our vaccines or cause serious illness.Vaccinating everyone would act dramatically to reduce this risk. Yet our record to date is lamentable.Despite the fact that by the end of this year 12 billion doses of vaccines will have been produced – enough to vaccinate every adult in the world - 95 per cent of adults in low income countries remain unprotected.We must act now to change this picture and demand vaccine equity across our globe. ‘None of us are safe until we’re all safe’.
In the branches are traditional baubles, stars and fairy lights but also shampoo, tampons, and deodorant.Revd Nick Mottershead, Priest in Charge, hopes the unusual display will encourage visitors and congregation to donate hygiene products over the festive season. He has coordinated collections for the Square Mile Hygiene Bank for the past two years, providing supplies to organisations working with a range of people. These include survivors of domestic abuse and modern slavery, refugees, asylum seekers and families who struggle to make ends meet. So far more than 12,000 kgs of items have been donated, through work place collections in the City, drop-off points at local Boots branches and City churches, orders made through online ‘wish lists’ and donations from companies. Hygiene poverty is ‘huge’, he says, affecting people on low incomes who can barely afford basics such as food and heating, and those living in or escaping from crisis. Since he began the work, he has also distributed small items such as nail clippers and hair dye and consignments of bath robes, luxury towels and bed linen donated from top hotels and linen companies in London. A small gift or package of self-care items has a disproportionate effect on well-being and morale, he says. “It is often only a small amount of money and yet it gives somebody the gift of dignity. To me that is the most mind blowing and amazing aspect of this work.”
