Nation

The Oregon Supreme Court halted a rural judge’s order which had tossed out statewide coronavirus restrictions imposed by Gov. Kate Brown in a case brought by churches arguing the Democrat exceeded her authority.

As restrictions on mass gatherings across the country are relaxed to allow in-person worship services, a couple churches that already reopened have again suspended in-person services after new coronavirus outbreaks in their congregations.

Three pastors spoke to a crowd of about 300 people outside the New Hampshire State House in Concord, standing a few feet away from signs spelling out the prohibition on gatherings of 10 people or more. The event featured prayers, songs, and speeches from organizers of the ReOpenNH movement.

A federal judge in North Carolina on Saturday sided with conservative Christian leaders (including two Baptist churches) and blocked the enforcement of restrictions that Gov. Roy Cooper ordered affecting indoor religious services during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Disease trackers are calling a choir practice in Washington state a superspreader event that illustrates how easily the coronavirus can pass from person to person. The act of singing itself may have spread the virus in the air and onto surfaces, according to a report from Skagit County Public Health published Tuesday (May 12).

Conservative Christian leaders sued North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper on Thursday (May 14), asking a court to throw out his restrictions on indoor religious services in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. They argued the limits, initiated by Cooper with health in mind, violate their rights to worship freely.

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected a challenge to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s authority to impose stay-at-home orders on churches in the battle against the coronavirus. A Baptist church was among those suing.

A federal judge on Monday (May 11) dismissed a legal challenge by a group of Catholics in St. Louis, while a similar challenge in Kansas City by a Baptist church is moving toward a hearing on Friday. Both suits challenge local restrictions designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the two hardest-hit regions of Missouri.

Some Southern California pastors agree with Gov. Gavin Newsom it’s time to start opening up their state — including its churches — after weeks of being shut down to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. They disagree, however, on how fast that should happen.

Stating “pandemics cannot be partisan,” North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday defended his eased stay-at-home order as criticism mounted from elected Republican officials and demonstrators who gather weekly outside his home. His order continues to impact churches.