County order allows for limited indoor worship
EL CENTRO – Imperial County Public Health Department issued a new health officer order Sunday to allow resumption of indoor church services, albeit on a very restricted basis.
The new order follows a state health order issued Saturday in the aftermath of state Supreme Court rulings issued Friday in two cases where churches argued the restrictions violated their religious liberty.
The justices said for now California can’t continue with a ban on indoor church services, but it can limit attendance and restrict singing and chanting inside.
The new state guidelines limit attendance at indoor services in areas with widespread or substantial virus spread to 25 percent of a building’s capacity. Indoor services in areas with moderate to minimum spread are limited to 50 percent capacity.
“Given that Imperial County is in the purple tier, indoor worship activities must be limited to 25 percent of capacity,” the Imperial County Public Health Department said in a release.
“However, as a protective measure against the spread of COVID-19, the order prohibits singing, chanting, shouting, and playing of wind instruments (any instrument played by mouth, such as a trumpet or clarinet) in religious services as well as in any public or private venue, both indoors and outdoors.”
The updated order is available on the Imperial County Public Health Department website, icphd. org.
The state high court was acting on emergency requests to halt the restrictions from South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista and Pasadena-based Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry, which has more than 160 churches across the state.
“You can go to your house of worship, as of now! You can go back to church, we’re excited about that,” Pastor Art Hodges of the South
Bay United Pentecostal Church told KNSD-TV.
The church has defied state orders since last May by holding service indoors while following COVID-19 safety protocols, Hodges said. He said he was thankful to hold services on Sunday “without any pressure or threat or concern” and added that the 25 percent attendance limit will make him add two or three more services to accommodate church members.
“As more of the restrictions that have been put in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are lifted, we must still be mindful of safety precautions that will continue us down the path of improvement,” said Imperial County Health Officer Dr. Stephen Munday. “It is important that we not let our guard down and continue to practice the measures that have been proven to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus.”
The county said the California Department of Public Health plans to release finale guidance once the court order has been reviewed further. Interim updates to the guidelines for places of worship are available on the covid19.ca.gov website.