North Carolina church attendance limits in the pandemic are challenged
Public criticism of attendance limits at worship services is growing, with a new lawsuit challenging the restrictions, a rally Thursday, and a second sheriff announcing he won’t enforce the rule.
With opposition growing, Gov. Roy Cooper spoke extensively about religious faith at a news conference Thursday. He talked about how he missed going to his own church, and said limits on indoor church attendance are meant to keep the coronavirus from spreading.
He noted that churches around the country have been hot spots for viral spread.
Cooper did not mention any by name, but outbreaks in Arkansas, New York, California, and other states have been linked to attendance at religious services or programs, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Sacramento Bee have reported.
Cooper’s executive order limits in-person attendance at indoor worship services to 10 people in a room unless adhering to that limit is impossible. Churches are encouraged to stream services online, or worship outdoors.
“Regardless of executive orders, I would urge every congregation to pause and consider whether indoor services are the right thing to do,” Cooper said. “I don’t want our churches to become hot spots for this virus.”
Demonstrators opposing restrictions on indoor worship services rallied in front of the Legislative Building on Thursday, The News & Observer reported. David Gibbs, president of the Christian Law Association, said a federal lawsuit has been filed to get the order reversed.
The demonstration comes a day after Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said he and his deputies would not enforce the limits on churches.
A second sheriff, Tracy Carter in Lee County, said in a Facebook post Thursday that he and his deputies are not going to break up church services.
“In regards to places of worship and being able to assemble, I believe that is the church’s decision to make and not mine or anyone else’s. Our churches have been following the guidelines that were set for weeks now and I believe that they know how to safely operate,” the Facebook post said.
Death toll tops 600
The death toll from the coronavirus has topped 600 in North Carolina and the number of reported cases has passed the 16,500 threshold, the Department of Health and Human Services reported Thursday.
A total of 615 people in the state have died of COVID-19, an increase of 18 from Wednesday, according to the DHHS data.
There were 691 new cases of the virus reported from Wednesday after 8,811 completed tests in the 24-hour period, or 7.8% positive. A total of 16,507 people have tested positive for COVID-19 overall in 99 counties as the state continues to ramp up its testing.
The News & Observer is keeping its own tally of coronavirus cases based on data from state and county health departments. As of Thursday morning, there were 16,696 reported cases and 637 deaths in the state.
Avery County remains the only county without a reported case of the virus. County officials report there have been 438 completed tests and 405 people have tested negative for the virus, with 33 tests still pending.
As of Wednesday, the state was averaging about 7,200 tests each day over the last seven days. About 7.5% of overall tests had come back positive.
North Carolina reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 3. In the early weeks of the pandemic, confirmed cases doubled every two to three days, The News & Observer reported. As of Tuesday, cases were doubling every 19 days.
Staff writers Josh Shaffer and Martha Quillin contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 11:28 AM.
