Return to Church Assessment Tool for Individuals

Now that the church building is open for worship, many people will be asking, due to my age and health, should I be returning to church at this time. We can't answer that question for you. That will be a matter for your own judgement, but the following assessment tool has been provided by the Church of Scotland to help you make that decision - the tool is a simple scoring chart and easy to use.

With the building reopened, we will be restricted in the number we can accommodate. At the moment the maximum figure is 50 (Scottish government regulations) for any building, but due to the two meter social distancing rule, Bennochy church may not be able to hold as many as that.

Assessment Tool

The assessment tool below helps you to see how different risk factors may combine to give serious health complications should you catch the COVID-19 virus. It does not include the factors that may make you clinically extremely vulnerable, where you should be following the guidance for those who are shielding. It includes the factors where there is significant statistical evidence but does not include any rarer conditions which you may have, so this only offers a starting point. You may want to discuss the results with your doctor or with those who have expectations about your involvement with church life.

We are not claiming medical expertise in sharing this way of scoring your risk but giving a way to show how serious catching the virus may be for you or the groups using your church building(s).

Circle the score next to each one that applies to you and add up your score.

Risk FactorScore
Age
50 - 591 
60 - 692 
70 - 794 
80 and over6 
Sex at birth
Male1 
Ethnicity
Caucasian (white-skinned, of European origin)0 
Black African Descent2 
Indian Asian Descent1 
Filipino Descent1 
Other (including mixed race)1 
Diabetes & Obesity
Type 1 & 21 
Diabetes Type 1 & 2 with presence of microvascular complications or HbA1c greater than or equal to 64 mmol/mol2 
Body Mass Index greater than or equal to 35 kg/m21 

You can estimate your body mass index (BMI) using the BMI healthy weight calculator.
Cardiovascular disease
Angina, previous heart attack, stroke or cardiac intervention1 
Heart Failure2 
Pulmonary (lung) disease
Asthma1 
Non-asthma chronic pulmonary disease2 
Either of the above requiring oral corticosteroids in the last year1 
Malignant neoplasm (cancer)
Active malignancy3 
Malignancy in remission1 
Rheumatological conditions
Malignancy in remission2 
Immunosuppressant therapies
Any indication2 

Total Score:  ____

A score of under 3 indicates a lower risk, but you should still be following the guidance for staying safe.

A score of 3 - 5 suggests a greater risk and you should consider ways of reducing your risk by taking additional precautions or avoiding some activities.

A score of 6 or more suggests a high risk and indicates that you should continue to work or participate in church life from your home.