With Omicron Covid variant spreading, masks made mandatory in shul again

The United Synagogue this week called for “additional precautions” in light of the latest news about the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus.

Current US guidance requires “a minimum of social distancing or face masks” but now the US says it “strongly recommends” mandatory face masks for everyone, apart from the service leader or speaker, in Shabbat services.

In a guidance update to rabbis, rebbetzins and shul chairs, the US says its current focus “is on shul services given the religious obligation to attend and the desire to ensure everybody who would like to attend feels able to”.

The Movement for Reform Judaism is not issuing new guidance at the moment, sticking to a detailed set of seven principles devised by Rabbi Josh Levy, outlining the expectations by both synagogues and individuals.

But as Reform’s Joanna Phillips pointed out, many of the community’s services are hybrid, meaning people can choose to watch on Zoom rather than attend in person — not an option open to US members. Its current guidance states:

“Mask wearing is still advisable indoors, especially in crowded and badly ventilated spaces, but face coverings are not a panacea (especially for singing)”.

It continues: “The four Ds remain important. We should consider how we mitigate risk with reference to distance, direction, density, duration.”