Government relaxes Covid rules on singing in church

Jo Boyce from CJM Music

The UK government relaxed the Covid guidelines for singing in church this weekend. While the congregation is still not able to sing, from 15 August, small choirs will be able to sing during services indoors and outdoors.

The new guidelines say: "There should be no group singing by worshippers. Places of worship should take account of the Performing Arts guidance. (link below). Small groups of professional or non-professional singers will be able to sing in front of worshippers both outdoors and indoors from 15 August. Singing in groups should be limited to a small set group of people and should not include audience participation.

Where music plays a big part in worship, and recordings are available, we suggest you consider using these as an alternative to live singing.

Any instrument played during worship should be cleaned thoroughly before and after use.

Broadcasting

Groups of professional singers are now able to rehearse and record indoors for broadcast (see the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport guidance for information on how this can be done safely).

Congregational activity

Except for the limited circumstances outlined above, people should avoid singing, shouting, raising voices and/or playing music at a volume that makes normal conversation difficult or that may encourage shouting. This is because of the potential for increased risk of transmission from aerosol and droplets. Therefore, spoken responses during worship should also not be in a raised voice.

Activities such as singing, chanting, shouting and/or playing of instruments that are blown into should be specifically avoided in worship or devotions. This is because there is a possible additional risk of transmission in environments where individuals are singing or chanting as a group, and this applies even if social distancing is being observed or face coverings are used.

There's still no indication of when congregations will be allowed to join in singing. Public Health England is still carrying out safety tests.

LINKS

Latest Public Health England Guidance - www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-during-the-pandemic-from-4-july/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-places-of-worship-during-the-pandemic-from-4-july

Performing Arts guidelines: www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/performing-arts