We are invited to a Celebration of Life in a church. I thought because it was a "religious" service we would be exempt from the Provincial Health Orders. Wrong, this is what the rules are.
Mask mandate: masks are required in all public
indoor settings for everyone age 12 and older. This applies to the
memorial service and reception, so everyone in attendance is required to
wear a mask.
Proof of vaccination requirement: starting September 13, everyone must show proof of vaccination in order to attend certain events. The requirement is for one dose by September 13, and two doses by October 24. Although there are some exceptions to this requirement, an indoor funeral of more than 50 people does not fall under the exemption. Therefore, everyone who attends the memorial service will be required to show proof that they have had at least one dose of the COVID vaccine in order to attend. If they cannot show proof, then they cannot attend. There are no exceptions to this, and either you or someone else who you appoint will be responsible for checking this and ensuring that everyone who attends has been vaccinated. This will require one or two people to be stationed at the entrance to the church who will be responsible for checking both the proof of vaccination as well as picture ID to confirm that the person matches the proof. Alternatively, I can hire staff to manage this, but there will be an additional cost for this service.
There are some other restrictions for the reception that you will need to follow as well:
We can set a maximum of 32 tables of 8 people (256 people) in the gym for the reception in order to comply with capacity restrictions. Please let me know how many people you are expecting so that we know how many tables to set up.
- All guests are required
to remain seated at their tables except to get food or to use the
washroom. There can be no socializing between tables or mingling
of guests. Any mingling would need to take place outdoors.
- All guests are required
to wear masks when not seated at their table – i.e. when they arrive
and leave, when they are getting food or using the washroom, etc.
It is the responsibility of the organizer of any events that take place at the church to make sure that all the guidelines and policies are followed. I understand that this is complicated and not easy, but we are required to follow all Provincial Health Guidelines so unfortunately, this is what we have to do. Thank you for understanding.
