LOCKDOWN 3.0 – ANNOUNCMENT ON 4TH JANUARY 2021

As many of you will be aware the UK Government yesterday evening announced a national lockdown in England.

What does this mean for our idaras/Centres?
Essentially all places of worship are allowed to remain open and you can continue all types of congregational worship, Jammat prayers & Majalis.

What’s not allowed?
“Socialising/interacting” – The government has allowed places of worship to allow communities to carry out their usual acts of worship collectively on the condition that it is not used as a way to freely socialise or interact with people from  other homes.

The only exception to interaction is for the speaker/scholar who is giving a sermon or the management making announcements.

Our Recommendation
Majlis e Ulama e Shia (Europe) has taken a close look at the risk nationally, and believe the risk now is a greater level than what we went through in March 2020, at that point Places of Worship were forced to close, we therefore recommend that all centres temporarily close until Mid-February.
The Government is projecting that by Mid-February, the 4 most at risk groups of the population would have been vaccinated, this will then significantly reduce the risk of mortality in the country overall, as most of the deaths have occurred in those groups.
The decision is always a local one since the government has given the option to continue operating under secure COVID19 procedures. If you choose to continue with congregational acts of worship in your centres, we would strongly advise that you revisit the risk assessment accordingly, taking into consideration that the new variant (VUI – 202012/01) which is proven to be 70% more transmissible, and has, in a very short period of time, become the dominant strain. Therefore, increased safety measures would need to be implemented in order to be safe to remain open.

If you require assistance with risk assessment or further advice around safety measures do contact
office@majlis.org.uk

We pray for the hastening of the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam (aj).
Majlis e Ulama e Shia (Europe)