Diocese Produces New COVID-19 Guidance for Parishes

Our diocesan health and safety team, this week delivered fresh updates for parishes regarding measures that need to be taken over the Christmas period to keep everyone safe at this time.

Within the guidance parishes have been instructed to rely on their risk assessments to identify any areas which may be a risk and to ensure that hygiene and social distancing can be implemented to reduce the likelihood of the spread of the virus.

With a particular concern for the Christmas period and the possibility of a greater number of worshipers, many parishes are celebrating more Masses than usual. As always, we rely heavily on the generosity of volunteer stewards and Bishop David has thanked the stewards commenting on the effective and efficient way they carry out their duties through regular cleaning, assisting with hand gel and guiding visitors through our procedures.

Each parish is required to provide two extra stewards for the Christmas Masses and to close the doors of the church when the pre-identified safe capacity has been reached. The safety of all concerned is paramount, including our stewards. The health and safety team have asked for each individual to be patient and recognise the extreme strain all our parishes are under to provide a safe environment where everybody can celebrate this wonderful time in the Church’s year together as one body in Christ.

The new guidelines can be downloaded here