On Christmas Eve, Los Angeles County public health officials issued a last-minute appeal to residents preparing to celebrate the holiday: don’t attend services indoors – it’s not safe.
In a statement published on Thursday on the Department of Public Health’s website, officials said they recognized that people have a “sincere desire” to return to normality and to attend internal services in person, as they did in the past.
“Now, unfortunately, it is not the time to attend closed religious services,” read the message. “Los Angeles County is in the midst of its biggest increase in COVID-19 cases. Local emergency rooms and hospitals are full. And there is no evidence of an end in sight for the current increase. “
The statement added: “Attending an in-house service will result in the transmission of COVID-19 and additional hospitalizations that the healthcare system cannot currently handle.”
LA County reported one of the deadliest days of the pandemic on Thursday, with an additional 148 deaths – a new daily record. Authorities warn that deaths will continue to increase unless residents take steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The houses of worship in the county have the right to meet inland after the authorities this week loosened his own guidelines for religious services, allowing socially distant encounters and wearing masks indoors.
The move came after a series of court rulings across the country, including the United States Supreme Court. They involved religious organizations, claiming that public health orders violate their constitutional right to freedom of religion.
The Supreme Court in late November decided in a case about New York restrictions in houses of worship that states could not impose stricter limits on religious organizations than in other places where large numbers of people congregate. This month, a Kern County judge, citing the Supreme Court decision, also ruled that restrictions on closed religious services in California are unconstitutional.
Despite lifting the ban, LA county officials for days told residents that meetings for religious services at home during the holiday would increase the chances of contracting the virus, saying that non-compliance with the guidelines on the meeting on Thanks it helped to bring the most deadly wave of the pandemic.
Many religious leaders followed the advice. On a letter to priests and pastors issued this week, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez said that while indoor worship is now allowed within the county, outdoor meetings are safer and still strongly encouraged.
Najuma Smith-Pollard, pastor of the Word of Encouragement Community Church in Pico-Union, said her congregation held a virtual service before Christmas on Wednesday night. Smith-Pollard, who pastors about 160 families and knows three people who died of the virus last month, led the cult in a studio with a musician.
“If someone is still trying to have a face-to-face service meeting, they are not paying attention to the numbers and they are not paying attention to the infection rate,” she said. “It is very tall and very close to home.”
In the Christmas Eve statement, public health officials said people could spread the virus before they had symptoms or even if they were asymptomatic. Activities such as speaking out loud or singing indoors increase the concentration of small suspended drops and particles that carry the virus, they said.
“No matter what a High Court judge says and considering what is happening now, it is just too risky to meet indoors with other people who don’t live with you,” the statement said. “Public Health urges you to continue to worship more safely, as you did during the pandemic, participating remotely through streaming service or just in outdoor services.”