Twelve religious organisations spanning mosques, Hindu temples, churches, Buddhist temples and gurdwaras will be allowed to hold gatherings of up to 100 people from Friday, as the Government eased some Covid-19 rules yesterday.

This will apply only to congregational and worship services, and is double the number of people these organisations are currently allowed to host at any one time.

The new move will result in new safe distancing measures, such as the use of two separate zones of up to 50 people each, at some of these places where seated or more structured services are held, said the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY).

Zones will have to be separated by a physical partition or barrier, and must have separate entran-ces and exits, or staggered entry and exit timings.

The 12 sites were identified by the ministry as part of a pilot test in consultation with religious leaders.

They are: Masjid Assyafaah, Masjid Mujahidin, Masjid Al-Istighfar and Masjid Al-Iman for Friday prayers; Sri Mariamman Temple on Fridays only and Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple on Saturdays only; St Andrew's Cathedral, Jurong Christian Church, Amazing Grace Presbyterian Church, Sengkang Methodist Church, Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery and Central Sikh Temple on Saturdays and Sundays only.

MCCY said the selected sites have proven to be able to safely conduct services for up to 50 people under phase two guidelines implemented on June 26. The guidelines include congregants wearing a face mask at all times, and not allowing singing and live performances.

Before that, religious activities largely took place virtually.

MCCY said phase two guidelines will remain in place at these 12 selected places of worship, and how well they ensure a safe environment for worshippers will determine whether the initiative is expanded to other religious sites.

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) said the trial is a test of the readiness of mosques and congregants to perform Friday prayers in large numbers.

The four mosques in MCCY's pilot will each implement the ministry's dual zones for congregants, which will open up 600 more places for the three prayer sessions on Friday.

As Friday prayers were allowed to resume for small numbers of people on June 26, the council said congregants have "adapted well to new norms and behaved in a cooperative and responsible manner".

"Although there have been visits by asymptomatic indivi-duals to a few mosques, there have not been cases of infection or clusters linked to mosques so far," Muis added.

Mr Terry Wong, vicar of St Andrew's Cathedral, said the increase of 50 worshippers per session "may not make a big difference but is a right step in the direction of trying to find a 'new normal' ".

He said he understood the MCCY's cautious approach and will likely provide the additional 50 spots to congregants on a first come, first served basis.

"We are hoping that with the effective implementation of sa-fety measures, all churches and religious places will find the right balance for the coming months," he said.