SINGAPORE - Mosques here will be scaling back on the number of worshippers allowed to attend congregational prayers, said the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) on Wednesday (May 5).
From Saturday, the number of congregants allowed at mosques for each congregational prayer session will be scaled back to 100 people - down from 250 people now.
These 100 people will have to be placed into two zones, with 50 people in each.
It will apply to daily congregational prayers, Friday prayers, the special terawih and qiyamullail prayers that take place during the ongoing fasting month of Ramadan, as well as the Hari Raya Aidilfitri prayer on May 13.
For worshippers who have made online bookings for the terawih and qiyamullail prayers, Muis said it will retain existing bookings made within Zone 1 and Zone 2 at mosques.
Bookings for other zones are voided automatically, and the council will e-mail worshippers whose bookings have been cancelled.
The multi-ministry task force tackling the Covid-19 pandemic announced on Tuesday that safety measures would be tightened, given the spike in community cases here. They said then that pre-event testing will be required if there are more than 100 attendees at any one time.
Muis is studying how pre-event testing requirements can be applied to congregational prayers in mosques to enable them to safely offer more prayer spaces.
It added that in line with the multi-ministry task force's measures, all mosques will be bringing forward the implementation of TraceTogether-only SafeEntry to May 17, instead of June 1.
This means that TraceTogether app or token is required for worshippers to enter mosques here, and the scanning of SafeEntry-QR codes with the phone camera and SingPass App will be discontinued.
The council also announced that its religious lectures in mosques as well as weekly religious classes for children will be temporarily suspended and shifted online from Saturday.
Selected mosques will continue to offer zakat - or alms-giving - payment services for the remaining days of Ramadan till May 13, but only on an appointment basis.
Muis chief executive Esa Masood appealed for Muslims here to adapt to the changes.
He said: "We seek the support and understanding of congregants visiting the mosque to continue to abide by the necessary measures and give your full support to our mosques' staff and volunteers, who have been working dedicatedly to keep our mosques safe".
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From Saturday, the number of congregants allowed at mosques for each congregational prayer session will be scaled back to 100 people - down from 250 people now.
These 100 people will have to be placed into two zones, with 50 people in each.
It will apply to daily congregational prayers, Friday prayers, the special terawih and qiyamullail prayers that take place during the ongoing fasting month of Ramadan, as well as the Hari Raya Aidilfitri prayer on May 13.
For worshippers who have made online bookings for the terawih and qiyamullail prayers, Muis said it will retain existing bookings made within Zone 1 and Zone 2 at mosques.
Bookings for other zones are voided automatically, and the council will e-mail worshippers whose bookings have been cancelled.
The multi-ministry task force tackling the Covid-19 pandemic announced on Tuesday that safety measures would be tightened, given the spike in community cases here. They said then that pre-event testing will be required if there are more than 100 attendees at any one time.
Muis is studying how pre-event testing requirements can be applied to congregational prayers in mosques to enable them to safely offer more prayer spaces.
It added that in line with the multi-ministry task force's measures, all mosques will be bringing forward the implementation of TraceTogether-only SafeEntry to May 17, instead of June 1.
This means that TraceTogether app or token is required for worshippers to enter mosques here, and the scanning of SafeEntry-QR codes with the phone camera and SingPass App will be discontinued.
The council also announced that its religious lectures in mosques as well as weekly religious classes for children will be temporarily suspended and shifted online from Saturday.
Selected mosques will continue to offer zakat - or alms-giving - payment services for the remaining days of Ramadan till May 13, but only on an appointment basis.
Muis chief executive Esa Masood appealed for Muslims here to adapt to the changes.
He said: "We seek the support and understanding of congregants visiting the mosque to continue to abide by the necessary measures and give your full support to our mosques' staff and volunteers, who have been working dedicatedly to keep our mosques safe".
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