Religious leaders in Medway have welcomed the government's surprise announcement that places of worship can open for limited prayer from Monday.

It had been thought that churches, mosques, synagogues and temples would remain closed until at the earliest July.

But worshippers will now be able to attend for supervised individual prayer and quiet reflection for the first time in weeks.

The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev James Langstaff, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank churches across the Diocese for all they are doing to serve their communities at this time, and for all that they will continue to do in the weeks and months ahead.

"While welcoming this announcement, I would like to reassure churches that I understand that there will be a variety of reasons why for some, it will not be possible, safe or appropriate to open. No church should feel under pressure to do so.

"More detailed guidance is expected to be published by the government early in the week, and Church of England guidance will be updated accordingly.”

Safeer Khan, the Imam of the Nasir Mosque in Gillingham, said this was a "welcome step in the right direction".

He said: "As Muslims we pray five times day and stand shoulder to shoulder in prayer, so this has been a particularly difficult challenge. But we have been happy to compromise and will follow the social distancing guidelines and wait until the time is right."

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Mr Khan lives next door to the mosque in Medway Road which attracts hundreds of Muslims from all over the county.

He said: "I have been praying from home. But it's not the same. There's not the same atmosphere or feeling. We might introduce a rotating system so everyone gets a chance to pray."

A delegation of Christian bishops and reverends had urged the government to prioritise churches in its exit strategy from lockdown.

They said it was unfair for churches to be in the bottom category of "the most dangerous and least important services" alongside beauty salons, pubs and cinemas. A letter signed by 25 prominent clerics was not endorsed by the Church of England.

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