Update 16 from COVID-19 Crisis Task Force

To our Community members and attendees,

We hope you are all keeping well.

We begin this week’s update with a sincere thanks to you all for taking precaution and following public health measures over the last few months. Alhamdulillāh this, coupled with powerful prayers from across the globe, is taking us in the right direction. Please continue with prayers and precaution.

The province of Ontario was fortunate to hear good news yesterday as Premier Doug Ford announced that several regions will be entering ‘Stage 2’ of the ‘Framework for Reopening our Province’ on Friday June 12, 2020.

Two key updates mentioned yesterday in the Premier’s announcement were that, regardless of whether a region is entering ‘Stage 2’ or not, effective Friday June 12, 2020 at 12:01 am:

  1. Social gatherings will increase from a limit of 5 to 10 people with physical distancing measures in place.
  2. Places of worship are permitted to reopen for prayer only.
In a follow-up webinar today, with MPP Kaleed Rashid on the Reopening of Ontario Mosques, it was clarified that permission was only given for the daily mandatory prayers. No other congregations are considered to be an essential service.
The COVID-19 Crisis Task Force continually deliberates on new directives and guidelines from the province and is consciously exercising extreme caution in our decisions. We understand that our centres are the nucleus of our community spirit and we are all eager to return to them. However, it is our priority to ensure that our members and attendees are safe and healthy.
Our team is analyzing several variables while putting together a ‘Phase-by-Phase Plan’ for when we feel it is safe for us to reopen. This will be a slow and gradual process, but we need to be sure that every step we take towards reopening is carefully calculated and thought out.

Additionally, the three regions in which our centres are situated have not been cleared to enter Stage 2 as we do not meet the public health criteria in these regions; lower rates of transmission in local communities as well as continued progress in testing.

Until then, while it is indeed heavy on our hearts, we will remain closed, even for daily prayers, until further notice.

Please keep our community and all of humanity at the forefront of your prayers. May we be relieved of this difficult situation soon.

With Salāms & Du’ās

ISIJ Secretariat Office
Islamic Shia Ithna-Asheri Jamaat of Toronto
905.695.9786 | [email protected]

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