COVID-19 Safety Plan

Places of worship and religious gatherings

Effective 22 October 2020

How to complete the COVID-19 Safety Plan

Record the action/s you will put in place under all the Safety Plan sections:

wellbeing of staff and customers
physical distancing
hygiene and cleaning
record keeping.

Each requirement must be addressed in each section. If a requirement does not apply to your premises, briefly describe why.

Once you complete the COVID-19 Safety Plan, a confirmation email will be sent to you with a copy of your plan attached as a PDF.

To complete the COVID-19 Safety Plan offline, print a blank copy of the form using the print button.

Remember to keep a copy of your COVID-19 Safety Plan on your premises at all times.

NSW Health updated advice regarding singing and chanting for places of worship

In accordance with advice from the Chief Health Officer, NSW Health recommends the following measures for singing and chanting.

A small group of up to 5 people may sing together in a large well-ventilated (preferably outdoor) area if:

all singers face forwards and not towards each other
have physical distancing of 1.5 metres between each other and any other performers, and 5 metres from all other people including the audience and conductor.

Ensembles and other musical groups should rehearse and perform outdoors or in large, well-ventilated indoor spaces.

Details

Name of place of worship

Location (town, suburb or postcode)

If your place or worship has multiple premises, complete a Safety Plan for each location. Provide contact details for the person responsible for the COVID-19 Safety Plan at each location.

Completed by

Full name

Email address

We will send a copy of the plan to your email.

Requirements for business

Exclude staff and congregants who are unwell from the premises.

Provide staff with information and training on COVID-19, including when to get tested, physical distancing, wearing masks, and cleaning.

Make staff aware of their leave entitlements if they are sick or required to self-isolate.

Consider offering online services or alternative arrangements for people in high-risk categories (e.g. over 70 years).

Ensure COVID-19 Safety Plans are in place, where relevant, for community centres and halls (if hiring out premises).

Premises with food or drink services must complete the COVID-19 Safety Plan for restaurants and cafes and register their business through nsw.gov.au.

Venues taking bookings for weddings and funerals should ensure there is a COVID-19 Safety Plan in place for the event.

Capacity at a place of public worship or religious gathering must not exceed 300 people, or one visitor per 4 square metres of space (excluding staff), whichever is the lesser. Children count towards the capacity limit.

If a place of public worship has more than one building on the premises, each building can have up to 300 persons (or 150 for a wedding), or the number of persons that is equivalent to one person per 4 square metres of space (whichever is the lesser), provided that each building has:

a separate ingress/egress to the outdoors
no contact between congregants or staff across these buildings
a separate COVID-19 Safety Plan for each building.

Wedding services in a place of public worship have a maximum capacity of 150 people, or one guest per 4 square metres, whichever is the lesser. Bookings for weddings can be taken for future dates for a higher number of guests than permitted by the current Public Health Order, but patrons should be advised that their event will need to comply with restrictions in place at the time.

Funeral services held in places of worship have a maximum capacity of 100 people, or one guest per 4 square metres, whichever is the lesser.

Group singing (either choirs or congregants) or chanting and musical instruments should comply with the most recent advice from NSW Health.

Move or remove tables and seating as required, where possible. Members of the same household do not need to physically distance.

Reduce crowding wherever possible and promote physical distancing.

Where reasonably practical, ensure staff maintain 1.5 metres physical distancing at all times, including at meal breaks and in offices or meeting rooms. If staff are not able to physically distance, or work in a role with significant public interaction, strongly recommend they wear a face mask if practical.

Use telephone or video for essential meetings where practical.

Review regular deliveries and request contactless delivery and invoicing where practical.

Have strategies in place to manage gatherings that may occur immediately outside the premises, such as at the conclusion of services. This may involve suspending or adjusting the practice of greeting congregants as they arrive or depart to ensure appropriate physical distancing.

Coordinate with public transport, where reasonably practical, around strategies to minimise COVID-19 risks associated with transportation to and from the venue if crowding on public transport may occur.

Take measures to ensure drivers of courtesy vehicles minimise close contact with passengers where possible and encourage passengers to wear masks whilst in the vehicle.

Education programs should be conducted in accordance with the NSW Government guidelines on Schools and Childcare. Students do not need to follow strict adult physical distancing guidelines but should follow good hygiene practices and physically distance where practicable. Staff should continue to maintain 1.5 metres physical distancing from students where practicable.

Encourage congregants to wear a mask during attendance at places of worship. Wearing a mask is not mandatory but is highly recommended. Mask wearing is not a substitute for physical distancing, but may further reduce risks.

Adopt good hand hygiene practices.

Ensure bathrooms are well stocked with hand soap and paper towels or hand dryers.

Consider modifying religious rites or rituals to avoid direct contact where practical, such as communion or other similar practices. Where this is not practical, ensure hands are washed before and after each interaction with soap and water or hand sanitiser.

Clean frequently used indoor hard surface areas (including children’s play areas) at least daily with detergent/disinfectant. Clean frequently touched areas and surfaces several times per day.

Disinfectant solutions need to be maintained at an appropriate strength and used in accordance with the manufacturers’ instructions.

Staff are to wear gloves when cleaning and wash hands thoroughly before and after with soap and water.

Keep a record of name and contact number for all staff, volunteers, visitors and contractors for a period of at least 28 days. For households, one contact is sufficient to support contact tracing. Where possible, personal details should be collected in a way that protects it from disclosure to other customers, and any paper records must be digitised within 24 hours. Records are only to be used for tracing COVID-19 infections, must be stored confidentially and securely, and provided immediately to an authorised officer on request. Electronic collection (such as QR code) of contact details for each person is strongly encouraged.

All places of worship must complete a COVID-19 Safety Plan and register themselves through nsw.gov.au.

Make your staff aware of the COVIDSafe app and its benefits to support contact tracing if required.

I agree to keep a copy of this COVID-19 Safety Plan at the premises

Now that you have finished, send the plan as a PDF to the email address you provided.

COVID-19 Safety Plan

Places of worship and religious gatherings

How to complete the COVID-19 Safety Plan

NSW Health updated advice regarding singing and chanting for places of worship

Details

Requirements for business

Wellbeing of staff and congregants

Physical distancing

Hygiene and cleaning

Record keeping