The Federal Government has said the duration for each church service should not be more than one hour.
The National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Sani Aliyu, on Tuesday during a briefing in Abuja, rolled out the guidelines for the reopening of worship centers.
“For churches, each service should be for a maximum of an hour with an interval of thirty minutes in between services to allow time for disinfection.”
Similarly, the national coordinator said Friday prayers in mosques should also not exceed one hour.
“Mosques may open 15 minutes before and ten minutes after prayers. The total time for Friday prayers should not exceed an hour.
“Islamiya schools, Sunday schools, night vigils, and children classes are to remain suspended.
“Worshippers should be encouraged to sign up for preferred worship and make the option of virtual service an option.
“There should be no gathering either or after worship and business outlets within the premises should remain closed,” he explained.
He also stated that,
“In view of the widespread community transmission of COVID-19, it is important that places of worship operate in a safe manner to ensure the protection of public health, avoid outbreaks and safeguard the health of the vulnerable members of the population.
“To this end, the following guidelines have been developed as a minimum set of standards that have to be complied with for places of worship to safely operate nationwide.
“They have been developed by the PTF in liaison with the leadership of religious communities in the country and should be used as a baseline for states to allow these activities.
“It is important to note that due to the nature of religious congregations, places of worship are particularly recognised to have a major potential for spreading COVID-19 infections amongst worshippers.
“Therefore places of worship that are not able to comply with these measures should not be allowed to operate by state governments.
“The following measures are recommended;
“All places of worship must sign up to full compliance with all aspects of non-pharmaceutical interventions required to protect the public from COVID-19 including but not limited to ensuring the supply of running water and soap, alcohol sanitisers at entry and exit points in all high contact locations including bathrooms.