Prime Minister Dr. Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, as well as other Government officials on Friday 12th February met virtually with a representative grouping of the Coalition of Churches. During this meeting, the various protocols in place for religious worship and other church activities were discussed.
As a result of this meeting, the following proposals are either being actively pursued or under consideration:
Church leaders to notify the police in their districts of funerals that are scheduled to facilitate the management of such gatherings particularly with regards to the procession;
Funeral services are to be held no later than 11:00 a.m. to ensure the completion of burial before 3:00 p.m. To support this, cemeteries to be closed at 3:00pm;
Funeral homes to be requested to refrain from playing live or amplified music during funeral processions; and a review of the current COVID-19 mass gathering protocols as they apply to churches to be undertaken within the next three weeks.
