Dear all, We hope this finds you safe and well. We are writing to you, following the Prime Minister’s announcement of a national lockdown, to express our shared appreciation for your support as community leaders during 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic. We know this has been a difficult time, and your ongoing leadership and support for the most vulnerable members of our community has been invaluable. As we enter a national lockdown, and schools across Tower Hamlets close, we know that there will be huge challenges for many of our residents. However, there is no doubt that the situation is severe in Tower Hamlets. Over the past week, we have had 3,500 cases, including very high rates in those over 60 years old. Cases are continuing to rise rapidly and capacity within our hospitals is heavily affected. This is why a new national lockdown has come into force and is necessary. Everyone must now stay at home and not leave home unless for specific and limited reasons. This includes shopping for basic necessities, exercising once a day, seeking medical help, to work (but only if you cannot work from home) and attend childcare (for those eligible) or to escape harm or domestic violence. 

Under national lockdown guidance now in place, places of worship are permitted to stay open for private and communal worship where all Covid secure precautions can be met. The public can attend places of worship for a service but must not socialise or be in close contact with anyone outside of their household or support bubble. Everyone should maintain strict social distancing (at least 2 metres) at all times. 

We recognise and appreciate the spiritual, emotional and social benefits that worship provides, but in light of the serious situation in Tower Hamlets and for our local hospitals, we are urging faith settings to think very carefully about whether they can be absolutely certain of maintaining all the safety measures listed here, and to close if in doubt or if there are any concerns. A number of places of worship across the borough have already taken the difficult decision to close, including Brick Lane Mosque and East London Mosque. We know this would not have been an easy decision to make and is one that is dependent on individual circumstances. We want to offer our support to all of you in your considered efforts to protect the most vulnerable in our community. 

Where places of worship choose to remain open, they need to strictly follow the rules to protect the public. Measures that need to be followed are those that have been communicated to you throughout the year: • Any household bubbles attending must be at least 2 metres from others at all times, attendees are required to wear face coverings inside at all times, handwashing facilities should be easily accessible on entry and exit as a minimum, the room should be kept well ventilated, enhanced cleaning measures should be in place and anyone displaying symptoms should self-isolate as quickly as possible. • Places of worship should be keeping a record of contact details for those attending their setting in case of an outbreak and should keep this information securely for 21 days. Full guidance is available online - www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-athome#places-of-worship. 

We recommend checking this online information for updates as the situation progresses. If you are unsure or worried about whether your faith setting is Covid compliant, please contact us at PHCov19@towerhamlets.gov.uk and we can support you with making an informed assessment of risks. It is important to keep in mind that failure to follow the guidelines could result in action being taken against your organisation, which we wish to avoid. As we move into 2021, we are hopeful of greater security for our residents with the arrival of the Covid vaccine. We are especially grateful to our NHS colleagues for their swift mobilisation of the vaccination programme within Tower Hamlets. Thousands of vaccines have been administered in the borough to people over 80, in care homes, and health and care staff, offering them opportunity in the near future to once again enjoy spending time with their families and feel safe in their homes. To date, our older Bangladeshi residents have been more hesitant in taking up this opportunity and we want to look at how we can best support them in their decision. We hope to work with yourselves in the coming months to promote this programme locally. Thank you for your continued leadership and support within our community. 

Yours sincerely, Reverend Alan Green Chair of Tower Hamlets Inter Faith Forum Councillor Sirajul Islam Statutory Deputy Mayor Cabinet Member for Faith Communities John Biggs Mayor of Tower Hamlets Dr Somen Banerjee Director of Public Health