The Volokh Conspiracy

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Religion

Some Churches "Continue Holding Large Gatherings Despite Coronavirus Warnings"

My guess is that these are quite unusual, but still noteworthy.

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Mike Stunson (McClatchy) has a story on this; an excerpt:

More than 1,800 people attended services for [Life Tabernacle Church in Louisiana, led by Pastor Tony Spell] Sunday, according to WVLA. The service was held despite Gov. John Bel Edwards' executive order that gatherings should be limited to 50 people or less….

There were around 200 people gathered at [Hempfield's Word of Life Church in Pennsylvania] Sunday, according to TribLive.com. The senior pastor, Tom Walters, said the church stayed open and went on as scheduled because the country's reaction to COVID-19 "could possibly be, disguised In everything else, a direct attack on the church," TribLive.com reported…. "If there's one person in this place, or two people, three people, perhaps, who may be carrying coronavirus, we declare you're healed in Jesus' name. Hallelujah," TribLive reported….

Hallelujah indeed! Why didn't the CDC think of that?