LOS ANGELES (AP) – California on Monday lifted its restrictions on indoor worship services in light of rulings in the U.S. Supreme Court that have scrapped the coronavirus public health mandates.
However, Public Health Department guidelines continue to say that indoor gatherings are “strongly discouraged” and they recommend limiting the numbers to 25% of a building’s capacity for the two highest levels of the COVID-19. restrictions of the state. The recommended capacity for the two lower levels – the areas with a moderate to minimum distribution – is 50% capacity.
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‘Places and capacity constraints in places of worship are not mandatory, but are highly recommended,’ reads the new guideline, saying the changes are a response to recent court rulings.
The Center for American Freedom, which has filed a number of lawsuits against Gavin Newsom on behalf of churches, has welcomed the move.
“Governor Newsom should have done it a long time ago,” reads a statement from Harmeet K. Dhillon, the center’s founder. “For more than a year, the state of California has been targeting the faith community for discriminatory treatment that deprives them of their fundamental right to worship.”
State or local restrictions on indoor worship to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were applicable for most of the pandemic. Most religious organizations followed the restrictions, but some churches opposed it on the grounds that they violated the constitutional freedom of religious expression.
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Restrictions on indoor worship capacity were introduced in February to replace a total ban on indoor services that was applicable to most of the state because the virus cases were high.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the outright ban in a case brought by churches in California, although it left restrictions on capacity and a ban on singing or chanting.
On Friday, however, the Supreme Court ruled that California cannot apply virus-related restrictions to religious worship, including Bible studies and prayer meetings. The case concerns two residents of Santa Clara County in the San Francisco Bay Area who wanted to host small Bible study sessions.
California announced earlier that significant changes would take effect Thursday that would lift restrictions on events, including indoor concerts and theater performances. The changes come as the infection rates in the state have decreased and the vaccinations have increased.
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The Supreme Court has dealt with a number of cases in which religious groups dispute coronavirus restrictions affecting worship services. While the court early in the pandemic sided with state officials over the objection of religious groups, that changed after the death of Liberal Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September last year and her replacement by Conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
In November, the High Court banned New York from imposing certain limits on the attendance of churches and synagogues in areas hit as hard by the virus.