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PROVO — After being closed to in-person training for 14 months, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' missionary training centers across the world will begin reopening starting late next month, church officials announced Monday.
The Provo, Ghana and New Zealand training centers are slated to reopen in late June at a limited capacity to a small number of missionaries. A timeline for reopening in-person instruction for the remainder of the church's missionary training centers has not yet been released.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 30,000 missionaries have trained for their service online through the church's 10 missionary training centers.
The exact opening dates for each location will be based on local guidelines from health officials and are subject to change, church officials said.
In order to qualify for in-person training at any MTC, missionaries must have a negative COVID-19 test prior to arriving, the church said. Additionally, tests will be given to any missionary with symptoms during their training.
Those assigned to the Provo MTC must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, in what the church said is a "temporary precaution."
Only U.S. missionaries who won't be learning a new language for their mission will be eligible to attend the Provo MTC, initially.
About 150-200 new and eligible missionaries will be invited to train at the Provo location weekly. Unless contacted by local leaders directly, missionaries will continue to train online.
Capacity and eligibility to attend the center will gradually expand as "COVID-19 conditions continue to improve," church officials said.
"These plans for on-site MTC training have been carefully considered, and protocols will be in place to ensure a safe environment and experience for new missionaries before they leave to their assigned area of service," church officials wrote in a statement.
