Kylie Beach | October 21st, 2020 02:12 PM
New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard has announced the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions on churches in his state, with 300 people allowed at religious gatherings from this Friday (subject to the four-square-metre rule).
Mr Hazzard acknowledged church leaders had been frustrated by having to turn away attendees under the previous restriction of 100 people. He added that the increased number would make a “huge difference”.
Singing during church gatherings, though, is still not permitted. In addition, Hazzard strongly advised service attendees to wear a mask.
Asked about recent frustration expressed by church leaders in the media prior to today’s announcement, Hazzard said some exemptions already had been granted to religious groups who have approached his office. So far, exemptions have been granted to St Mary’s Cathedral, St Andrew’s Cathedral, the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque, and the Central Synagogue.
Churches call for equal treatment in COVID rules, as frustration shows
Mr Hazzard said there was the possibility of an exemption for Hillsong Church – whose Senior Pastor Brian Houston took to Twitter to complain about the restriction this week – to allow more than 300 people, given their church in Sydney’s north-west can accommodate 4,000 people.
“But I’m not going to put a number on that because that requires the expertise of the Chief Health Officer and her team to look for each individual situation,” the Health Minister said.
Related Reading
Related stories from around the web
Eternity News is not responsible for the content on other websites
Read Next
Churches call for equal treatment in COVID rules, as frustration shows
Don't sing in church, not even for a livestream says NSW
In Full: Attorney-General Michaelia Cash speaks up on the Religious Discrimination Bills
Vic Schools bill restricts more than hiring - conduct rules will need to be very specific
Getting vaxxed and unvaxxed to church without stirring up a culture war
Vax and unvax - a view from a Melbourne church
Making sure it is a "yes", new sexual consent laws for NSW
Religious knives banned – so are they like Christian crosses?
A plethora of petitions: Christians (and the government) look beyond lockdowns
Too much information – the COVID inundation
COVID stretches NSW health systems and raises tough ethical questions
Victoria to severely limit the freedoms of religious bodies and educational institutions
A bottom-up view of the budget
Religious discrimination's difficult battleground outlined in conservative and progressive submissions
Latest
Farewell from the Eternity team
As Eternity News draws to a close, our team offers you, dear reader, our personal,…
What to watch this Easter (plus Eternity's highest rated movies)
Looking for some entertainment for the Easter weekend? Here’s a collection of three Easter-related movies…