Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
DOJ Warns Gov. Newsom That California's Reopening Plan Unfairly Discriminates Against Churches
The Associated Press: US Says California Order Discriminates Against Churches
The head of the federal Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division told Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday that his plan to reopen California discriminates against churches. In a letter to the governor, Eric S. Dreiband said that despite a coronavirus pandemic “that is unprecedented in our lifetimes,” Newsom should allow some in-person worship under the current second phase of his four-part reopening plan. (Jablon, 5/20)
Reuters: U.S. Department Of Justice Warns California Governor Over Pandemic Church Closings
In a three-page letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, the DOJ said the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution required churches and other houses of worship be given equal treatment under the law, even when a health emergency has been declared. “Simply put, there is no pandemic exception to the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights,” Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband wrote in the letter. (Whitcomb, 5/19)
The Wall Street Journal: Justice Department Tells California Its Reopening Plan Could Disfavor Churches
California’s March stay-home order and another this month outlining plans for a staggered reopening treat churches and religious services less favorably than secular activities, the head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division and the state’s four U.S. attorneys told Mr. Newsom in a letter urging him to adjust the restrictions. The reopening plan, for example, lets restaurants, factories, malls and other offices operate with social-distancing earlier than in-person religious services. (Gurman, 5/19)
Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus: Justice Department Warns California Over Religious Rights
Dreiband raised issues both with California’s stay-at-home order and Newsom’s plan to roll it back. While worshipers cannot gather in person, even while following social distancing protocols, California has deemed employees in the entertainment and e-commerce industries essential and allowed them to continue working in person, “regardless of whether the product they are selling and shipping are life-preserving products or not,” Dreiband said. “This facially discriminates against religious exercise,” he said. (Ormset and Wigglesworth, 5/19)
Politico: Justice Department Tells California To Reopen Churches
Newsom’s framework for incrementally reopening California’s economy would allow religious services to resume after forms of commerce like manufacturing, which the federal government called an example of “unequal treatment of faith communities.” Newsom said this week that the state could greenlight in-person worship in the coming weeks as infection, testing and hospitalization numbers improve. “I want to just express my deep admiration to the faith community and the need and desire to know when their congregants can once again start coming back to the pews, coming back together," Newsom said Monday. (White, 5/19)
CNN: Texas Church Cancels Masses Following Death Of A Possibly Covid-19 Positive Priest
A church in Houston has canceled mass indefinitely after one of its priests died and five others subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston confirmed the death of Father Donnell Kirchner, a 79-year-old priest who worked at Holy Ghost Catholic Church, according to a statement issued Monday by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. It's unknown what specifically caused the priest's May 13 death, the Archdiocese said, and "it is not clear" if Kirchner had been tested for Covid-19. But within the following week, five others he lived with tested positive for the virus. (Ries, 5/19)
CIDRAP: Church Pastor Tied To COVID-19 Super-Spreader Events In Arkansas
Church events held between Mar 6 and 11 at an Arkansas church—where the pastor and his wife were positive for COVID-19 and showing symptoms—led to 35 confirmed COVID-19 cases among 92 people (38%) who attended events. The super-spreading event is described today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The high attack rate also led to three fatalities among church members. Case contact with the 35 confirmed cases led to 26 additional cases, and 1 additional death. The age-specific attack rates among persons age 18 years and under, 19–64 years, and over 65 years were 6.3%, 59.4%, and 50.0%, respectively, the authors said. (5/19)
Boston Globe: Mass. Houses Of Worship Can Reopen Under New Guidelines, And A New CDC Study Shows Why Caution Is Needed
A new study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examines a coronavirus outbreak at an Arkansas church, highlighting the risks as Massachusetts allows churches to begin reopening. The study found that among 92 attendees at a rural Arkansas church from March 6 to March 11, 35 people developed laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Three of the people died. An additional 25 cases spread into community, causing one death, the CDC found. (Finucane, 5/19)
