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| D. Myles Cullen/White House |
"Today I’m identifying houses of worship — churches, synagogues, and mosques — as essential places that provide essential services, " Trump said at a press briefing in the White House Friday.
"Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential but left out churches and other houses of worship, it’s not right. So I’m correcting this injustice and calling houses of worship essential. I call upon governors to allow our churches and places of worship to open right now."
“These are places that hold our society together and keep our people united. The people are demanding to go to church and synagogue, go to their mosque,” he said.
"The governors need to do the right thing and allow these very important, essential places of faith to open right now for this weekend. If they don’t do it, I will override the governors."
Trump pressured the CDC Thursday during a Ford factory tour to release guidelines saying, “I said, ‘You better put it out.’ And they’re doing it,” Trump said Thursday. “And they’re going to be issuing something today or tomorrow on churches. We’ve got to get our churches open.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidelines Friday afternoon for churches and other places of worship to follow. The CDC recommends face coverings, soap or hand sanitizer, clear their facilities daily, and to steer clear of shared materials that cannot be easily cleaned.
The guidelines share that houses of worship should limit crowd sizes, or move them outdoors, stop activities where it’s hard to stay six feet of distance, and eliminate use of singing and choir.
The CDC reminds that the guidelines are “non-binding public health guidance for consideration only; it is not meant to regulate or prescribe standards for interactions of faith communities in houses of worship. Any decision to modify specific religious rites, rituals, and services should be made by religious leaders.”
Previously, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discarded guidelines that they gathered for reopening places of worships after disagreements occurred with the Trump administration.
This article was last modified on May 22, 2020 at 6:05 PM ET