Following Pressure From Trump And Pastors, California Allows Places Of Worship To Reopen With Restrictions

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TOPLINE

Following pressure from President Trump and a group of 1,200 pastors, California will allow places of worship to reopen with reduced capacity and additional restrictions.

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 12: Bishop Marc Andrus processes to altar during virtual Easter Sunday ... [+] service at an empty Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, April 12, 2020. (Scott Strazzante/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images

KEY FACTS

Last week, 1,200 pastors signed a petition demanding that California recognize churches as essential and declaring that they would reopen on May 31 regardless of whether it violates the law.

Trump echoed the pastors at a briefing on Friday, stating that houses of worship are essential and ordering governors to reopen them “right now,” promising to override them if they didn’t.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded Monday by announcing plans to allow places of worship to reopen with reduced capacity and additional restrictions, despite previously suggesting that such a move could be weeks away.

The venues will be required to cap attendance at 25% of their total capacity or 100 people.

They will also have to establish COVID-19 prevention plans, train employees on how to prevent the virus from spreading and institute protocols on physical distancing and disinfecting.

The state’s guidelines also require churches to “set parameters around or consider eliminating singing and group recitations,” requiring members of the chorus to wear masks and distance six feet apart.

Key background

The fight over reopening churches has become increasingly political and divided along cultural lines. Trump in his remarks on Friday noted “some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential, but have left out churches and other houses of worship,” which he said is “not right.” But churches have also been found to be among the most likely places for coronavirus to spread easily. Church choirs in particular have been prolific spreaders of the virus.

Big number

94,558. California has had 94,558 positive cases of coronavirus and 3,795 deaths as of Sunday, according to the California Department of Public Health.