Coronavirus (Covid-19) updates

Welsh Government has announced that as from 18 April 2022, legal restrictions under The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020 will be removed (except for the requirement to wear face coverings in health and care settings).

The main impact of this for local churches is that a Covid risk assessment will no longer be a specific legal requirement. However, the risk of transmitting Coronavirus will need to be considered as part of your church’s general health and safety and risk assessment process. It is a legal duty for all organisations to plan their activities and manage hazards by assessing the risk of them causing harm. Therefore, it is recommended that you maintain a risk assessment to manage the transmission of Coronavirus (as an obvious hazard at the current time) as part of your Health and Safety management arrangements.

It is no longer a legal duty to record people attending services and other activities but organisations can consider doing so to aid contact tracing (which continues until June).

We will be issuing revised guidance in the light of these legislative changes shortly to help you consider the appropriate measures to keep people safe. Good ventilation, hygiene, premises cleaning and, where possible, social distancing remain the most effective ways to control the spread of Coronavirus (and, indeed, some other transmissible diseases).