Phase 3 COVID-19 Important Updates

The government of Ontario - through MPP Kaleed Rashid - held a Q&A session on Jul. 22 regarding updated Covid-19 issues for Mosques and Eid. It was noted:

• As of July 24th, all regions will be in Stage 3 except Peel, Toronto, and Windsor;
• Maximum 30% indoor capacity, but limited by physical distancing is still the maximum for Mosques;
• Masks are mandatory now in most cities (including London) for inside buildings, including Mosques. This is a municipal issue and municipal bylaw officers are responsible for enforcing this;
• A Mosque in Peel was fined and shut down because by-law officers found people inside during prayers without masks;
• In Stage 3, you can have 100 people outside, which includes all volunteers and Imam, but they still have to be 2 meters apart;
• Even drive-in services have that restriction and cars must be 2 meters apart too.
• You cannot combine 30% inside capacity plus 100 people outside - it is either/or;
• You can (and should) take some contact information for outdoor prayers for contact tracing purposes;
• There will be no special permission for Eid prayers - this was rejected by the Chief Medical Officer of Ontario;
• There is a concern that people will hug/kiss others after the salat despite the best efforts of any Mosque staff/volunteers, in violation of current physical distancing/social circle guidelines;
• You can have a Nikkah inside a Mosque now with the 30% capacity rule and physical distancing;
• You can have a Janaza inside a Mosque now with the 30% capacity rule and physical distancing;
• The province has no mandated guidelines on age. The recommendation is still that people over 70 not attend and under 15;
• Mosques should be getting a list of people for every prayer - this will help with contact tracing in case something does happen.