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Mosques to Gradually Increase Congregant Numbers

MEDIA RELEASE

1 November 2020

10 mosques will take part in pilot to increase to 250 congregants; with congregants required to use TraceTogether

1. As the nation allows for the resumption of more social activities, the Ministry of Community, Culture and Youth (MCCY) on 26 September 2020 announced that it is progressively easing measures for religious activities and worship services. Currently, religious organisations are invited to take part in a pilot exercise, increasing worshipper numbers to 250 persons, split equally into five zones of up to 50 persons per zone.

2. Since June 2020, daily and Friday congregational prayers have resumed progressively in phases, with safe management measures such as safe distancing, shortened worship duration, separate entrances and exits as well as SafeEntry to aid contact tracing. Up until October 2020, Muis offered 15,525 spaces each week for Friday prayers which allowed congregants to perform Friday prayers more regularly.

3. As a result of the strong cooperation from the community in utilising the prayer booking system and following the safety guidelines at mosques, Muis is now able to gradually and safely increase more spaces for Friday congregational prayers. From 13 November 2020, Muis will pilot a trial in ten mosques, offering increased prayer spaces. The ten selected mosques will begin to offer three zones of 50 persons per zone. As an added precaution, these 10 mosques will require the use of TraceTogether for congregants attending Friday prayers.

4. The ten mosques will gradually increase the number of zones in phases up to the limit of 250 persons per session by the end of the year. This pilot will test mosque readiness to organise congregational prayers in larger numbers safely, as well as the cooperation of congregants in abiding by the safe management measures.

5. In addition, registration for Friday prayers for the next two weeks at all mosques will be  available via the MuslimSG smartphone app and through ourmosques.commonspaces.sg from 10 a.m. on Tuesday 10 November 2020.

Adopting TraceTogether & Safe Management Measures

6. As recently announced, checking in to a venue with the TraceTogether app or token will be made mandatory at many venues, as Singapore prepares for Phase Three of its opening. As at 23 October 2020, worshippers can utilise the TraceTogether SafeEntry check-ins at 40 of our mosques. Mosque officers have been proactive in actively promoting worshippers to download the TraceTogether app and to promote benefits of using TraceTogether token upon mosque entry.

7. With the increase in worshipper numbers, optimising use of TraceTogether will allow for quicker contact tracing as this will help to keep our mosques and loved ones safer. For the mosque, TraceTogether also allows localisation of possible infection and allows mosques to professionally clean and disinfect only the area frequented when a positive case is detected. This allows for faster and safer reopening of mosque premises and reduce the time to reopen.

8. In addition, all congregants are advised to continue to adhere to current safe management measures in keeping our mosques safe. This includes not attending if unwell, taking wudhu before coming to the mosque, bringing your own prayer items (prayer mats and a shoe bag), wearing a mask, refraining from talking and physical contact with other congregants while in the mosque, maintaining safe distancing and practicing TraceTogether SafeEntry when entering and exiting the mosques.

Allowing More to Perform Friday Prayers

9. In order to provide opportunities for as many Muslims as possible to perform Friday prayers, Muis would like to remind those who have made bookings and unable to attend, to cancel their booking at least 1 hour before the session begins to allow others a chance to register.

10. Those who are unable to obtain a slot for Friday prayers are still given the flexibility, as advised by the Office of the Mufti, to replace Friday prayers with Zuhur prayers and tune in to Friday sermons via SalamSG TV.

11. We seek the support and understanding of the Muslim community to continue to be socially responsible and safeguard public health as we perform our religious obligations in our mosques.

MAJLIS UGAMA ISLAM SINGAPURA

Annex A - List of 10 Mosques to Gradually Increase Capacity to 250 Congregants