Thousands of churches in England opt to close over Covid fears

Thousands of churches across England were closed for services on Sunday amid rising concern about the risk of Covid-19 spreading among worshippers.

Although the lockdown rules allow places of worship to remain open for communal services, the Church of England said more than half of England’s 12,500 parishes had taken the decision to shut their doors.

At least 22 cathedrals had also either closed or suspended public worship by the end of last week, and another 11 had decided to limit services.

Many mosques, synagogues and other places of worship have also decided to close in order to protect their congregations from the possibility of Covid transmission. Senior faith leaders have urged local places of worship to carefully consider the risks, and not open if they believe safety could be compromised.