The wearing of face coverings by all who attend our churches, in any capacity, is now strongly advised by the Church of England.
New guidance issued today for clergy and laity addresses the issue of further reducing the spread of COVID-19 and applies Government guidance on face coverings in shops and public places to church settings and practices.
The key CofE recommendation on face coverings is as follows:
“We strongly advise that face coverings should be worn by all those attending a place of worship, including ministers, worshippers, staff, volunteers, contractors and visitors, where there may be other people present; remembering that they are mainly intended to protect other people, not the wearer, from coronavirus COVID-19 and that they are not a replacement for physical distancing and regular hand washing.”
Social distancing of 2m in church buildings remains unchanged and the wearing of face coverings should not be regarded as a reason to reduce that safety gap.
Existing guidance on weddings, baptisms and funerals has been updated today to incorporate the wearing of face coverings.
A new document on the safe opening of churches has also been released and links to all the updated information can be found on our COVID-19 section of the website here /covid19.php
For further advice, please email covid-19help@leeds.anglican.org