CHURCHES that want to resume church services will need to forward their application to the Oversight Committee.
Special Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr Jimmie Rodgers said this is because anywhere people congregate and one person is infected more people in that congregation will be infected.
“…for instance if you do normal church practices even if you wear masks, if one or two or three in the congregation have COVID a few days later a lot more of the congregation will have COVID,” Dr Rodgers said.
Therefore, he said if churches wanted to resume church services they have to measure the area inside the church and divide the area by four square metres.
“That is the allowable space for one person.
“So if the church is 40 square metres it means only 10 people can worship and they must be socially distanced in that area and they must wear masks and all that,” Dr Rodgers said.
He said the following is what churches need to submit with their application;
- Measure the total area inside the church
- Identify the number of people you will allow to come to church
- How you will police it
- How you will follow protocols
Dr Rodgers said based on the above the Oversight Committee may consider church services to resume.
“So each church need to measure the area inside the church then you put forward your application to the Oversight Committee that you want to start services, this is the total area, this is the number of people you will allow to come in and this is how you will police it, and this is how you will follow protocol then possibility of considering church services based on those numbers is something the Oversight Committee can look into,” he said.
Church services are currently still suspended following the outbreak of COVID-19 community transmission in Honiara last month.