Congregational and other worship services held from May 8 to May 30 will require pre-event testing if there are more than 100 attendees at any one time, the Ministry of Health announced this evening (May 4).

While congregations are capped at 250 attendees, the need for pre-event testing will realistically cap most church services at 100 for this period.

“To further reduce the risks of transmission, congregational singing will be suspended in religious organisations to manage any risks of spread,” MOH said.

For wedding solemnisations and receptions, the maximum number of attendees will be 250 attendees in total — including the wedding couple but excluding the licensed solemniser and vendors for the entire event – in zones of up to 50 attendees.

However, for weddings involving more than 50 attendees, the wedding couple will be required to undergo pre-event testing, MOH said.

As for funerals, no more than 30 persons, down from the current 50, will be allowed on the day of the burial/ cremation. The cap for other days of the wake remains at 30 at any one time. Pre-event testing is not required, but attendees are reminded to maintain safe distancing and keep masks on at all times to reduce the risk of spread.

Other measures include reducing the size of social gatherings and visitors to homes from eight to five and ensuring that no more than 50% of employees who are able to work from home return to the workplace at any time.

This is part of a slew of tightened restrictions by the Government in a bid to curb the recent rise in Covid-19 cases in the community.

In the past week, there were 60 new community cases, up from 10 the week before. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from four cases in the week before to 10 cases in the past week. 

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