Reopening Gurdwaras During Covid

There was an excellent talk today about how we can re-open gurdwaras safely during Covid 19. The talk was put on by Sikh Coalition. The North American Sikh Medical and Dental Association has put together some excellent guidelines that can be reviewed and they need to be combined with local guidelines as they vary greatly. I learned a lot because there are many considerations that we don’t even think of. 

Gathering

In BC right now we're looking at groups of 50 people being allowed to gather. At the same time it is very important for us to make sure that we are doing this safely, while maintaining physical distancing, using masks and hand hygiene. For example one of the issues at our local Gurdwara Sahib will be that the front of the building is under construction and there is only a very narrow pathway for people to enter and exit. I’ve only gone twice to matha tek since things shut down in March but even then, I noticed that if there’s just 1-2 other people around, it can make things challenging to get in and out of the narrow staircase and keep your distance. One of the suggestions made was one of the Gurdwaras in the states did different phases: matha tek only, then when they reopened programs they messaged and made sure the sangat phoned before coming to the programs so they ensured they would not exceed maximum numbers, etc. One of the other suggestions from the webinar was outdoor and continuation of online programs, or doing programs more than once a week so that sangat can go on different days. In terms of physical sitting, it was suggested for this to be rearranged as well, with families sitting together (instead of arranging it as men and women on different sides. This is how it is arranged in a lot of places in India already). 

Programs

The transmission of covid while singing is a lot further of a distance than while talking. In the presentation they mention that American guidelines talk about 12 feet as the distance from those singing. Some of the suggestions that arose during the presentation were for example having a sort of plexiglass in front of the Raagis. I was reading the Alberta guidelines (seems like BC has none) for places of worship and they mention not sharing microphones and reminding the audience to hum instead of sing and wear masks. They also talked about not sharing things like gutkas but rather using our electronic versions, and sanitizing kirtan instruments. It was also mentioned in the Alberta guidelines that items that cannot be sanitized like hymns, books, should not be shared. The NAMDA guidelines also talk about changing ramalas daily, not sharing hazoorias, and sangat bringing their own ramals and chunnis.

Food

As for Degh some suggestions were to use Ziploc baggies, or to use a long wooden spoon to distribute the langar, and ensuring it doesn’t touch the hands of those who receive it. For langar they mention stopping self-service and doing boxed langars, or pre-prepared plates. This is suggested in alberta guidelines as well. The people making and distributing the degh and langar, as well as granthis should all have their faces covered with hazoorias. Education is obviously a huge component of reopening Gurdwaras. They talked in the webinar about reiterating the importance of masks, putting up posters, not coming if sick, etc. They emphasized that this is not going to be disrespectful but is rather for us to keep each other safe temporarily during this pandemic, and the danger of those who are younger going to the Gurdwaras and carrying the infection back to elderly or immunocompromised family members. 

The Purpose of our Gatherings 

While we aren’t going to be able to have Nagar Kirtans, Rainshbhais and camps, I think it is important for us to think about how to continue to serve the sangat. The gurdwara serves many purposes: fulfill spirituality and spiritual growth, learning for kids in Punjabi school, gathering, service (providing food/shelter), etc. One of the physicians on the webinar talked about how many in the sangat may be distressed from loss of a loved one or having economic hardships due to covid. It is important for the Gurdwara to serve as a place for them to go. At the same time, they talked about how we cannot be attached to how things were in the past. This isn’t simply a return to normal. The way we run our programs will have to change. I read an article from Singh Sabha Canada that talked about the purpose of Gurdwaras, and although I don’t support some of their other articles I think this article pointed out some important points like the fact that our main objectives may not have been fulfilled the way that Gurdwaras were running prior to covid. Were we really having spiritual discussions, sharing of wisdom, or fighting injustices? I this is why perhaps in the last few years I have seen a lot more projects from the Sikh community moving outside of Gudwaras into the community. We see some amazing work from organizations like Khalsa Aid for example. I’ve talked to people who do/teach raag kirtan, to Gurmukhs who do kathas, and simran, that they are frequently now having to move their programs and their objectives into homes and outside of the Gurdwara institutions because they either encounter obstacles, or resistance to spreading the messages of the Guru. So I think this is a great time for us to consider how we can use our innovative ideas and change how things are done in the future. As we start to move towards a new normal, how can we ensure that our Gurdwara Sahibs actually serve the purpose that they intend.  

References: 

http://nasmda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/GURDWAR-RECOMMENDATIONS-TOOL-KIT.pdf

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/2be831dd-d83e-42da-b634-6bc6d5232d1a/resource/dc6e8a2e-978b-4121-acc7-8889fcfc160e/download/covid-19-relaunch-guidance-places-of-worship-2020-05.pdf

https://www.sikhcoalition.org/our-work/empowering-the-community/covid-19-response-resources/ printouts and resources 

https://www.singhsabhacanada.com/?p=90303