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A eucharistic procession held in San Francisco urging permission for greater attendance at Mass, Sept. 20, 2020. (Photo by Dennis Callahan/Archdiocese of San Francisco)
Sept. 30, 2020
Catholic San Francisco
Religious services in San Francisco can reopen indoors at 25% capacity, up to 100 people, Mayor London Breed announced Sept. 29.
In addition, San Francisco will expand the capacity of outdoor places of worship, outdoor political demonstrations, and indoor malls, and will reopen additional family entertainment, hotel fitness centers, and more, the mayor announced.
The changes come as the state assigned San Francisco to Orange on its tiered reopening system, based on San Francisco’s COVID-19 infection and case rate.
San Francisco has also set a timeline for opening indoor movie theaters and outdoor playgrounds. Indoor movie theaters are slated to reopen at a limited capacity and with modifications on Wednesday, Oct. 7, and public outdoor playgrounds are planned to open in mid-October, now that state restrictions have eased.
“Reopening indoor restaurants and houses of worship with limited capacity and creating opportunities for families to safely enjoy outdoor entertainment are a good step on our road to recovery,” Breed said. “We are committed to following the data and continuing reopening once our local health indicators demonstrate it is safe to do so. That said, the last thing we want to see is a spike in cases and a need to roll back all the progress we’ve made, so we all need to do our part. Please continue to follow the public health guidelines and participate in these activities responsibly so we can continue to move forward together.”
The San Francisco Department of Public Health was set to issue final health and safety guidelines Sept. 30 for indoor dining, places of worship and other activities to ensure the safest reopening possible. On Sept. 24, the department provided restaurants and places of worship with preliminary guidance to safely reopen with limited capacity and other modifications in place.
The U.S. Department of Justice had on Sept. 25 warned San Francisco officials that its restrictions on public worship in the city may be unconstitutional.
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, who has argued in an increasingly vocal public campaign that the city's restrictions on worship gatherings are onerous and discriminatory, said that “respect for each other’s rights and compassion for each other’s needs are core San Francisco values. God bless Mayor Breed for responding to her constituents’ call.”
He added, however, that “California’s limit of no more than 100 people inside of a house of worship regardless of the size of the building is still unjust. We want and we intend to worship God safely: with masks, social distancing, sanitation, ventilation, and other such safety protocols. But we will not accept believers being treated more severely than other, comparable secular activities.”
The city said the reopening of businesses and activities will increase travel and interaction throughout the city, which means increasing community spread of the virus and an increase in cases.
The city provided the following guidance at https://sf.gov/resource/2020/reopening-guidance-places-worship:
You can hold multiple services at the same time, if you keep each group completely separated at all times.
If you hold outdoor services, you can have up to 200 attendees, 6 feet apart.
Keep holding remote services for older adults or people with chronic conditions. They are more at risk of serious complications if they get COVID-19.
Encourage all worshippers to choose one service to attend per week, at most. More gatherings means more risk to all worshippers.
Have attendees sign in for each service. If someone tests positive for COVID-19 later, the City can help everyone get tested.
Plan your services to be two hours long at most. Avoid shouting, chanting, or singing. Only one person at a time should speak. They must wear a face covering and be 12 feet away from everyone else. Have them use a microphone instead of raising their voice.
Screen everyone for COVID-19 symptoms before they enter. Send people home if they feel sick.
Everyone must wear face coverings while attending a religious service. If they must remove their face covering for a ceremony, they must keep their mouth closed and be six feet away from others. If they must speak, they must be behind a solid partition and more than 12 feet away from others.
Set up your indoor space for physical distancing. Make sure everyone can stay 6 feet apart. You can:
Install barriers
Move podiums
Make entrances, exits, and aisles one way
Move or block off every other seat and worshipping space
Block off every other bathroom sink
Prevent people from gathering inside. Close lobbies, meeting rooms, and other common areas. Have attendees seated in the back row leave first, at the end of a service.
Maximize ventilation by opening doors and windows. Consider installing HEPA filters.
Limit contact between people
Change rituals to prevent COVID-19 transmission.
Prevent people from sharing items, like books, offering plates, and religious objects. If people share items, they must wash or sanitize their hands before and after. Close water vessels, fonts, and fountains, unless you can disinfect them between uses.
Catholic News Agency contributed.