Netherlands: Covid-19 restrictions have been relaxed; fewer constraints on Mass with devotees. But no singing in Church yet

The Dutch government has relaxed its Covid-19 restrictions, a decision that has encouraging repercussions on the celebration of Mass in the parish communities, as announced by the Bishops’ Conference in a release today. Up to a maximum of 100 people had been expected to attend the services as from July 1st but now such limit has been lifted “on some specific conditions”: people must book a place beforehand by filling in a questionnaire on the state of their health, then they are given a place. People can get into church depending on how much room is available, but always one and a half metres from each other: this means that in the bigger ones there may be even more than one hundred people, and fewer in the small ones. The permit to attend outdoor processions must be given by the local authorities. As written in the Bishops’ Conference’s notice, “the government’s investigation of the risks of singing together has not been completed yet”, and that’s why things will go on as before, no singing in church either. But the government has already announced that “choirs will soon be able to practise and perform again, but only on some specific conditions”. The Dutch population began to go back to church on June 1st; so far Mass has been celebrated with up to 30 devotees at a time, regardless of the size of the building.
Valentina Bombelli