More than 1,200 pastors and 3,000 churches across California plans to hold in-person church services on May 31, according to a recently published article.

Church Defying the Orders of Governor Newsom

California has opened its economy under Phase 1 and slowly shifted to Phase 2 of Trump's administration "Opening Up America Again" program as part of the country's economic recovery in the wake of the global pandemic. Gov. Gavin Newsom eases some restrictions and allows essential businesses to operate.

Under Phase 1, there are guidelines that must be strictly followed to avoid contagion and these include the mandatory wearing of face masks and the prohibition of mass gathering of more than 10 persons. This means that religious activities will still not be allowed to hold in-person services.

Recently, more than 1,200 pastors coming from the different churches across California plans to resume their in-person church services on May 31. This defies the order of Gov. Newsom that prohibits religious activities to limit and stop the spread of the virus.

Church Pastors Signed a "Declaration of Essentially"

Robert Tyler, a lawyer that represents a church in Lodi, sued Gov.Newsom last month and a large group of pastors signed the "Declaration of Essentially." This means that pastors are asserting churches as essential and they should be allowed to open and have in-person services.

Tyler stipulated in the letter, "We believe you are attempting to act in the best interests of the state but the restrictions have gone too far and for too long."

California has opened its businesses as the number of COVID-19 related hospitalizations began to decrease in recent weeks. Other businesses such as retail, office buildings, restaurants, shopping centers were also approved to open.

However, all churches were still banned to open along with the hair salons and sporting events under Phase 2. Gov. Newsom said that they are not allowed to open and operate not unless the state will shift to Phase 3 in the coming weeks.

District Judge Denied the First Request of the Church

Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband wrote: "Simply put, there is no pandemic exception to the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights. Laws that do not treat religious activities equally with comparable nonreligious activities are subject to heightened scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment."

Moreover, the first request of the church to have in-person services was denied by the U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez.

He told a news outlet, "during public health crises, new considerations come to bear, and government officials must ask whether even fundamental rights must give way to a deeper need to control the spread of infectious disease and protect the lives of society's most vulnerable."

CDC Confirmed that Persons Who Tested Positive for the Virus After Attending Church Events

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Tuesday that two symptomatic persons tested positive for the virus after attending church events in rural Arkansas. Additionally, 35 of the church attendees had contracted with the virus, and three of them died.

Former CDC Director Thomas Frieden said: "We stayed home so the virus quieted down and stopped spreading widely where it was spreading widely, but it's still out there. So anytime you have a lot of people together in an indoor space and one of them is infectious, you can have a lot of cases."

At present, California is one of the states in the country that is hardly hit by the virus. As of today, there are nearly 82,000 COVID-19 cases and a death toll of more than 3,300, according to Johns Hopkins University and Medicine.

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