California must 'mandate equal treatment of persons and activities of a secular and religious nature' when deciding which public gatherings to allow.
In a Tuesday letter, the U.S. Department of Justice told California Governor Gavin Newsom to loosen restrictions around in-person worship services.
"California has not shown why interaction in offices and studios of the entertainment industry, and in-person operations to facilitate nonessential ecommerce, are included on the list as being allowed with social distancing where telework is not practical," the letter said,"while gatherings with social distancing of religious worship are forbidden, regardless of whether remote worship is practical or not.
"Our fear is simply this," Newsom said during a May news briefing."Congregations of people from far and wide coming together in a closed space at a large scale remains a point of concern and anxiety for us. We are working on guidelines for physical distancing and working with faith leaders talking about unique conditions in their own facilities. Nothing is etched in stone."
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
DOJ centralizes control of sensitive insider-trading probesThe department’s Public Integrity Section, which has a mixed record in complex corruption prosecutions, is looking at whether senators broke the law with coronavirus-related stock trades.
Read more »
Trump accuses Barr of double standard for saying it's unlikely DOJ will prosecute Obama, BidenWhen asked about U.S. Attorney John Durham's review of the Russia probe, Barr told reporters that he would not let the Justice Department be used as a weapon to 'drum up' illegitimate investigations.
Read more »
California Coronavirus Update: Governor Gavin Newsom Relaxing Some Restrictions For ReopeningCiting a trend of decreasing hospitalizations and ICU patients due to the coronavirus, California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state’s stay-at-home order could be drastically modified in the ne…
Read more »
California relaxes some criteria for reopeningSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom relaxed county reopening criteria on Monday, a move he said will allow most of the state’s 58 counties to begin allowing dining in...
Read more »
U.S. Department of Justice warns California governor over pandemic church closingsThe U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday warned California's governor that his COVID-19 restrictions discriminated against places of worship by preventing them from meeting while businesses and film studios are allowed to carry on working.
Read more »
Newsom: Dining to begin soon in most California counties, haircuts and church a few weeks awayCalifornians could attend church services and get their hair trimmed in the coming weeks, while the vast majority of counties can allow restaurant dining soon, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday
Read more »