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How tier restrictions affect places of worship and faith groups

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From today, the national lockdown in England has ended and the country is returning to the Local Restriction, aka Tiers, system. Places of worship are now once again allowed to open for communal worship in all tiers.However, compared to before the lockdown, some changes have been made to which activities are allowed. Please see the table below for a full breakdown of how restrictions apply to faith-related activities in each tier.

If you are unsure which tier of restrictions applies in your area, please check the full list of tiers available on GOV.UK.

What is allowed in each tier of restrictions?

NOTE: Wherever interaction can take place, social distancing of 1m+ should still be strictly maintained between anyone who doesn’t live together or are in a ‘support bubble’.

For more information, please see the updated guidance for places of worship.
Activity Medium (Tier 1) High (Tier 2) Very High (Tier 3)
Opening Places of Worship for communal worship Open for as many people as can be safely accommodated with social distancing measures
Attending Places of Worship for communal prayer Can attend and interact in groups of up to 6 people from different households Can only interact indoors with your own households, but outdoors can interact in groups of up to 6 Can only interact with your own household both indoors and outdoors
Wedding Ceremonies Can take place with up to 15 attendees, all of whom can interact.
Wedding Receptions Can take place with up to 15 attendees, all of whom can interact Can take place with up to 15 attendees, all of whom can interact Cannot take place
Funerals Can take place with up to 30 attendees, all of whom can interact
Commemorative events post-death Can take place with up to 15 attendees, all of whom can interact
Other Standalone Life-Cycle Ceremonies
that do not take place as a part of communal worship		 Can attend and interact in groups of up to 6 people from different households Can only interact indoors with your own households, but outdoors can interact in groups of up to 6 Can only interact with your own household both indoors and outdoors
Supervised Activities for Children
(including Sunday schools, madrassas etc.)		 Can take place with no limit on the number of children permitted to attend, following COVID-Secure guidance. Adults must ensure social distancing at all times.

Is singing allowed?

Singing that involves the congregation is allowed ONLY if it takes place outdoors. Social distancing and any relevant principles laid out in the guidance for the performing arts must also be observed.

COVID-19 testing – places of worship

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You may be aware of a series of ongoing pilots using lateral flow devices (LFDs) to test for COVID-19. This is an on-the-spot test for COVID-19 for people without symptoms, that gives a result in 30 mins. The test is being rolled out, at first, across the country to care homes, universities and hospitals. Directors of Public Health also have access to tests for use in their local communities.

We are exploring how we might best use our testing allocation for our communities. We are considering options for places of worship to take part in this programme as test sites, to offer testing to their members. The aim is to find as many COVID-19 infections as possible in people that do not know they are infectious and could spread it to others, without realising, while attending their place of worship. By finding these asymptomatic infections, the individual can self-isolate to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect vulnerable members of the community.

I was wondering if you knew of any places of worship that may wish to take part in this testing programme? Or, if you would be able to cascade information / an invitation to join the programme to members of the BMFF?

Dr Elliott Roy-Highley

Public Health Registrar

London Borough of Barnet, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, NW9 4EW

Tel: 020 8359 3663