Evangelical Church, Holy Family Cathedral to increase venue capacity within ‘weeks’

KUWAIT: Social distancing has ended at all mosques in Kuwait, but churches in Kuwait, headed by the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait (NECK) and the Catholic Church in Kuwait are still awaiting instructions to return to full capacity. “Months ago, we were only allowed a venue capacity of 20 percent; this was then increased to 30 percent and later 50 percent. We will be increasing attendance in the coming weeks,” said Bishop Jun Nones of NECK. “Church members are almost all vaccinated and few of us have already gotten third shots, so we are awaiting the advice of our church leadership to completely remove health restrictions,” he added.

On Wednesday, the Cabinet asked the Ministry of Islamic Affairs to end social distancing in mosques from Friday, Oct 22, provided that worshippers are vaccinated, bring their own prayer mats and continue to wear facemasks. The government also announced a “cautious” return to pre-pandemic life, ending 20 months of closures. From today, the airport will resume operations at full capacity and all types of visas will be issued.

HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah also announced the cancellation of almost all restrictions which the government began to impose in late February last year to contain the spread of the coronavirus, which has claimed more than 2,400 lives in the country. The Cabinet also allowed the return of conferences and wedding parties, provided only vaccinated people are allowed to attend and should wear masks.

On Friday, Catholic worshipers heard from a priest about a return ‘soon’ to pre-pandemic attendance. “I was there on Friday. We still have to register online to attend church services, although the church is not very strict. We can come even without registration, but to get priority for reserved seats, we have to register,” said Alice Mercado, a regular at the Holy Family Cathedral in Kuwait City. “Hopefully, we can see masses of churchgoers again. I miss the crowd of worshipers inside the church. It’s been two years now - we cannot sit next to each other even if we are a family,” she said.

Churches in Kuwait of all denominations and sects follow rules set by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs.