Both churches have stopped all meetings.

One of the latest confirmed patients had also attended Mass at the Catholic Church of Christ the King in Ang Mo Kio, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on February 14. 

While announcing the suspension of Mass in a pastoral letter signed by Archbishop William Goh, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore said that temperature-taking “is not a foolproof screening tool” because persons who are asymptomatic can also be carriers of the infection.

On Saturday, senior pastors of megachurch Faith Community Baptist Church said the church would temporarily suspend all on-site services over the weekend because “the spike in the number of confirmed cases this past week in various places such as Marina Bay Financial Centre and Grace Assembly of God got our attention”.

Adam Road Presbyterian Church also cancelled services until February 23 and will stream its services live on YouTube.

The City Harvest megachurch said on Thursday it would suspend services at Suntec City until the end of the month and urged their members to stay at home and watch online sermons.

The church management said: “This is not an easy decision for us to make … But our congregation is not small, and we have members young and old. As leaders, we feel strongly that we must do what we can to protect our flock, as the risk of infection is relatively high right now.”

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Chinatown will also stream its ceremonies live, though it will still provide blessings to people who visit the temple. This move arose from the Government’s advice to reduce large group communal activities and mass gatherings, the temple said in a notice to devotees.

NO NEED FOR ALL RELIGIONS TO CEASE SERVICES

Several religious activities across the island that involve crowds have already been postponed or cancelled. 

For example, the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho temple informed devotees that its annual hongbao-giving event originally slated for February 19 has been cancelled “to avoid putting devotees at risk”, while the Singapore Buddhist Federation has cancelled its Sunday school as well as a graduation ceremony for its adult dharma class on February 29. 

The Sikh community has indefinitely postponed its four-day Khalsa Week celebration that was meant to be held in March, as well as other sports and dinner events.

The decision on how to proceed during this period was discussed with the authorities, a spokesman from the Sikh Advisory Board said.

“The religious leaders had met with the authorities and felt that as places of faith, we want to make sure that the people’s confidence remains intact and that people can still go to their places of worship,” he said.

From Singapore to UK via the Alps: how one man spread coronavirus

On Friday, Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong and Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, met with church leaders to provide guidance on precautionary measures that churches can take, the MOH said.

“MOH advises that worship services may continue, but with appropriate precautionary measures. As churches are places where large numbers of congregants come together to worship, it is important to put in place precautionary measures and emphasise personal hygiene practices to reduce the risk of transmission,” the ministry said in a statement.

MORE PRECAUTIONS IN PLACE 

Since the national disaster outbreak response system condition was raised to orange last week, various places of worship have put in place surveillance measures to prevent those who are unwell from turning up at worship assemblies. 

Among the measures are temperature-taking stations that screen people heading in and those with high body temperatures will be asked to go home and to seek medical attention. There is also more frequent cleaning of common areas within various places of worship.

For example, megachurch New Creation Church has deployed state-of-the-art thermal scanners similar to those used by Changi Airport and hospitals across Singapore, provided hand sanitisers, and enhanced sanitisation of high-contact places such as common areas, toilets, and lifts.

At Hindu temples, many handwashing points are already provided, since it is a Hindu practice for devotees to wash their hands and feet before entering any temple, the Hindu Endowments Board said.

“Additionally, handwashing is a general routine in Hindu temples, as devotees receive blessed food in their hands,” it said in a statement.

While some places of worship may have limited resources – not all can afford to deploy infrared cameras for temperature screening – religious bodies are helping to coordinate the effort as well. 

For instance, the Sikh Welfare Council acquired 6,000 surgical masks to be distributed to staff members at Sikh temples, or gurdwaras.

“So our main agenda is to be ‘business as usual’, for prayer sessions to proceed as usual but with more precautions such as temperature-taking, ensuring good hygiene and to provide for contact-tracing when necessary,” a representative from the Sikh Advisory Board said.

‘Enjoy breeze and sun’: Singapore health experts offer coronavirus advice

To keep up their usual tasks, several Christian and Buddhist groups have recorded their services and rituals for online streaming purposes, and mosques are also encouraged to do the same by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis). 

“Islam excuses those who are unwell from attending congregational prayers, including Friday prayers,” Muis said in an advisory to the Islamic faith.

When asked if mosques will close their doors due to Covid-19, Dr Nazirudin Mohd Nasir, Deputy Mufti of Singapore, said that the religious guidance should evolve with the circumstances.

He gave the example of the salam – an established cultural practice and handshake etiquette in which a younger person greets an older person by kissing their hand and bringing their palm to their chest. Muslims understand that there is a need to set aside this practice to ensure that they do not transmit the virus, Dr Nazirudin said during a prayer session on Friday.

“Accordingly, our religious guidance for the community will evolve together with the situation. What matters most for us thus far is guiding the community to ensure that they remain safe, and they also contribute to the safety of others,” he said.

The National Council of Churches of Singapore has advised that churches should continue all worship services while adopting control measures issued by the Government, it said last week.

Its president, Bishop Terry Kee, said that worship services should not be cancelled unless “absolutely necessary”. 

He also urged believers not to compare the actions taken by some churches to close some services or programmes since they may have different considerations, he told Christian publication Salt and Light.

Several devotees and parishioners who were at temples and churches on Saturday said that while services are continuing, many large-scale gatherings have been cancelled and the added precautionary measures have been reassuring.

Brian Thomas, who works as a logistics driver, said that although the number of patients who contracted Covid-19 and were religious congregants is “alarming”, he is confident in the increased hygiene and screening measures that his church leaders have taken.

“It will be a knee-jerk reaction to stop all church sessions across the country (at this point),” said Thomas, who goes to a church in the Bugis area. “Without the help of religion in our lives to calm people, I think it could lead to even more panic.”