One Worshipper per 40 Square Feet: How Jamaica Switched Church Attendance From a Headcount to Floor Space

• Churches moved from a 50-person cap to a capacity-based limit from June 24, 2021
• The new rule allowed 70 per cent capacity, calculated at one person per 40 square feet of worship space
• Cinemas were put on the same formula
• Temperature checks, masks and distancing still applied

From June 24, 2021, the number of people allowed in a Jamaican church depended on the size of the building rather than a fixed number, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced in the House of Representatives, the Jamaica Observer reported.

Churches moved from a 50-person attendance cap to a capacity-based model allowing 70 per cent of capacity, worked out at one person per 40 square feet of designated worship space. Indoor theatres and cinemas were placed under the same formula, one person per 40 square feet or 70 per cent of seating capacity. Drive-in cinemas were limited by vehicle, with occupants matching each vehicle’s registered capacity.

“Protocols must continue to be observed, including temperature checks, mask wearing, gathering limits and social distancing,” Holness said.

He also warned that a summer spike in activity linked to entertainment could threaten plans to resume in-person schooling later that year. The change replaced a flat cap that treated a small rural chapel and a large city sanctuary the same way. Under the new rule, the number of worshippers a church could admit depended on the size of its building.

For church trustees, the rule made a building’s measurements matter directly. A sanctuary of 4,000 square feet of designated worship space would, on the one-per-40-square-feet formula, hold 100 people, while a small hall would hold far fewer. Congregations that knew their floor areas and seating capacity could apply the rule immediately. Those without up-to-date plans had to measure first. Keeping accurate, current drawings of church buildings is good practice anyway. They are needed for insurance, building approvals, extensions and any future sale or lease, and the pandemic showed they can also decide how many people are allowed in.

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