Assalaamo Alaikum Brothers and Sisters,

Alhumdullilah, we finally have some good news to share with you.

Earlier this week, the Ontario government announced the partial reopening of all places of worship effective Friday, June 12, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. In this first step we will be permitted to open masjid with physical distancing in place and attendance limited to no more than 30% of the building capacity. To ensure the safety of worshipers everyone in the province, must continue to follow public health advice, including physical distancing, wearing face coverings, washing of hands frequently and avoiding touching the eyes, nose and mouth. Observance to these requirements will be subject to monitoring by public health inspectors.

Based on these announcements, the SMA is quickly working on implementing the safety measures recommended by the Ontario Ministry of Health, in order to open the Mosque beginning with Jumuah (and all further congregational Salah) from this Friday - June 12 onwards.

Among other things, here is what the SMA will be doing:   

• To accommodate everyone, we will have two separate but shortened Jumuah Salahs.
  • First Jumuah - Khutbah = 1:35pm, Salah ends & premises to be vacated =2:00pm
  • Second Jumuah - Khutbah = 2:05pm, Premesis to be vacated by 2:35pm
• Attendance will be on a first come basis; we will request people to wait in their cars for the next salah and not gather in parking area.
• The entrance to the Mosque will have markings two metres apart. Males are asked to line up before the front doors and female are requested to line up at the side-ramp entrance;
• There is capacity of (30) in the brother’s side and 12 in the sisters’ side. Total 42 people can pray in one time ensuring social distancing of 2m.
• We will be asking each attendee a few required health pre-screening questions and will be recording the names of attendees for contact tracing purposes;
• Spots have been identified on the masjid carpet for spacing of two metres between people.
• We will sanitize the common areas frequently and perform a deep cleaning of the prayer area at least once a week;

• Those who are sick or medically vulnerable are asked not to attend;
• Based on Ontario government health advice it is strongly recommend that people over 70 years delay their return and continue to perform their Salah at home;
• Because of the restriction on numbers we kindly ask that children under age of 12 not to attend the Jumuah Salah;
• Please perform your Wudu at home to avoid congestion in the wudu area;
• Please bring your own prayer mats for use at the pre marked areas;
• Please wear masks where possible and use the hand sanitizers at the entrance;
• Please follow the instructions of the volunteers for pre-screening, name collection and for the orderly entrance and exit of the Mosque,
• Please avoid physical contact with other attendees inside the Mosque, the parking lot and those waiting to attend the second Jumuah Salah.

 
 
As you may have noticed, the measures implemented are to limit physical contact since the spread of Covid19 within the confined space of the Mosque is still a high probability. We are all responsible to do our part so your support and cooperation is very much appreciated.


Disclaimer While safety of the community is of utmost priority, there is still some risk present with visiting the masjid. Each individual bears responsibility for their own actions and the masjid or its management will not be held liable for any complications arising from your visit to the masjid.  




JazakAllahu Khairun,

Sarnia Muslim Association