Rt Revd Datuk Danald Jute
MIRI: The Anglican Church welcomes the announcement made by the federal government and the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) on the reopening of churches from June 20.
Sarawak and Brunei Anglican Church Bishop Right Reverend Datuk Danald Jute said while they have been waiting eagerly for this news, they will continue to be vigilant and tread cautiously.
“There shall be no complacency, as the coronavirus is still very much around. All the SOPs shall be strictly observed and adhered to, as we have been doing right from the beginning of this pandemic,” said Bishop Danald when contacted yesterday to comment on the SDMC’s decision on the reopening of churches.
He added that the Anglican Church is also pleased that the ‘new norm’ of social distancing of at least one metre between persons and other hygiene protocols are slowly becoming the accepted norm.
He said the priests and other leaders of the church have been briefed and the general congregations have been made aware of how and why they need to observe all these protocols.
“Most of our churches have or are in the final stage of mapping out the seating arrangements, setting up counters for temperature screening, personal information for contact tracing, along with the training of volunteers who will assist with sanitisation of church pews before and after church services as well as washrooms.
“Our priority is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all church- goers. All being well, Anglican churches will reopen on Sunday, June 28, 2020.”
The Bishop added: “We believe that by working together with the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee, and Unit for Other Religions (Unifor), and the general public, we will be able not just to contain but eradicate Covid-19 in Sarawak”.
Currently, the Anglican Church in Sarawak has 45 parishes with 150,000 members.
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