WILLITS, 5/26/20 — Governor Gavin Newsom released new shelter-in-place rules yesterday, allowing for the resumption of religious gatherings at places of worship, with certain safety restrictions in place. The new rules also allow for in-store retail shopping across the state. What’s more, while large gatherings remain banned as part of the continued effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease, the new rules do allow for gatherings for the purpose of political protest, and set up guidelines to attempt to make such events safer.
However, though the rules have changed at the state level it will take a few days for those to trickle down to the county level, as the county’s public health officer, Dr. Noemi Doohan, and county counsel work to craft a new local public health order.
In a brief interview CEO Carmel Angelo explained that, “that order will be out sometime this week.”
In the new rules, the California Department of Public Health lays out basic guidelines for houses of worship (the detailed rules can be viewed on the state’s website here). They encourage religious leaders to continue emphasizing remote and live-streaming options, and say that houses of worship should be at only 25% occupancy or 100 people, which ever number is lower. Other rules include training employees and new cleaning and disinfecting protocols.
Here is the governor’s press release:
Counties Statewide Can Reopen Places of Worship for
Religious Services and Retail Stores
Modifications Required to Protect Californians against COVID-19
Places of Worship Should Limit Attendance to 25% of Total Capacity
or a Maximum of 100 Attendees
Retail Guidance for In-Store Shopping, Already in Place for Certain Counties,
Now Applies Statewide
SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Public Health today announced the statewide reopening of places of worship for religious services and in-store retail shopping. Modifications are required to keep Californians safe and limit the spread of COVID-19. Subject to approval by county public health departments, all retail stores can reopen for in-store shopping under previously issued guidelines. Under new guidance, places of worship can hold religious services and funerals that limit attendance to 25% of a building’s capacity – or up to 100 attendees, whichever is lower – upon approval by the county department of public health.
While the vast majority of large gatherings remain prohibited under the state’s stay-at-home order, the Department of Public Health has released guidelines for in-person protests and events designed for political expression. The guidance limits attendance to 25% of an area’s maximum occupancy – or up to 100 attendees.
“Together, our actions have helped bend the curve and reduce infections in our state. As sectors continue to open with changes that aim to lower risk, remember that COVID-19 is still present in our communities,” said Dr. Sonia Angell, State Public Health Officer and Director of the California Department of Public Health. “As more of us may be leaving our homes, keeping physical distance, wearing face coverings in public, and washing your hands frequently are more important than ever to help protect yourself and those around you.”
The new guidance for religious services and cultural ceremonies encourages organizations to continue online services and activities, including to protect individuals who are most at risk for more severe COVID-19, including older adults and people with specific medical conditions.
To reopen for religious services and funerals, places of worship must:
- Establish and implement a COVID-19 prevention plan for every location, train staff on the plan, and regularly evaluate workplaces for compliance.
- Train employees and volunteers on COVID-19, including how to prevent it from spreading and which underlying health conditions may make individuals more susceptible to contracting the virus.
- Implement cleaning and disinfecting protocols.
- Set physical distancing guidelines.
- Recommend that staff and guests wear cloth face coverings, and screen staff for temperature and symptoms at the beginning of their shifts.
- Set parameters around or consider eliminating singing and group recitations. These activities dramatically increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission. For this reason, congregants engaging in singing, particularly in the choir, and group recitation should wear face coverings at all times and when possible, these activities should be conducted outside with greater than 6-foot distancing.
The existing guidance for retailers, previously allowed for counties approved to advance in the reopening process, now applies statewide. Retail can now open for in-store shopping statewide. The guidelines help reduce the risk for workers and customers. Retail does not include personal services such as hair salons, nail salons and barbershops.
In 21 days, the Department of Public Health, in consultation with local departments of public health, will review and assess the impact of the religious services guidelines and provide further direction as part of a phased-in restoration of activities. This 21-day interval accounts for seven days for religious communities to prepare and reopen in addition to a 14-day incubation period of COVID-19.
More information about the state’s COVID-19 guidance is on the California Department of Public Health’s Guidance web page.
More information about reopening California and what individuals can do to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is available at covid19.ca.gov.
Additional Resources
Cal/OSHA General Guidelines on Protecting Workers from COVID-19
CDC Guidance for Communities of Faith
CDC Guidance for Businesses and Employers
Gavin Newsom is a f$@king joke! He is going to tell people there guidelines for political protest, he is going to tell you how many people can assemble to protest or go to church? He can kiss my white ass he has no authority to impose these sanctions they are protected in the constitution of the United States (Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom to Assemble, The right to the pursuit of happiness)
Not even the President can change these rights that are protected! Our founding fathers made it clear these right were guaranteed and if so taken we the people shall use the Second amendment to protect these liberties and remove the tyrants in power!
Gavin Newsom better wake the hell up or we the people will stand together ready to use force if it comes to that and let me tell you were about one straw away from breaking the camels back and seeing the next revolutionary/civil war within our borders.
Mr Governor you think you and your corrupt family (Pelosi) and people you have in your pocket ((Adam Schift, Schumer, etc) are safe and can imprison us , “Wrong Asshole)
I completely agree and this was my first thought to. Political protests are protected going back to the founding fathers.
Newsom is totally disgusting and needs to be gone from office asap! I am just appalled at his smirky entitled attitude.
I am and have been extremely appalled by the mask mandates. They do not take into account people with medical issues who have a difficult or impossible time using them.
The issues don’t even stop at breathing they extend to mental health. For some masks are traumatic. They can conjure a whole range of mental health issues.
In the mandates there are exemptions but these do not protect us. We get harassed and bared from commerce.
I do not think these mandates have Benn thought through and they are complete oppression on a segment of society. It’s horrible.
I would like to see masks be voluntary. Plenty of people will still use them and many who will use them will be the people more at risk for Covid.
The effects on folks are irrelevant to our rulers. Dispense with any idea they “care” about us. They don’t. If it helps, look up some of the old George Carlin commentary on government. He was right on, on so many things. We’re not part of their club.
There are many folks who have trouble with masks for very legitimate reasons. And the inability to wear one continuously, denying them access to “essential” services, is itself a health risk. The “exceptions” are irrelevant, since most people are so terrified they can’t think straight, and perceive anyone not wearing a mask is a going to kill them on the spot. They simply don’t care about disabilities and respiratory illnesses precluding mask wearing, those without masks are “terrorists.”
The American Way has always been about combating tyranny, in part because these “one size fits all” non-“solutions” by control freaks are harmful in themselves. Consent of the governed is the foundation of this country, or at least used to be, because the diversity that the left usually claims to laud (but not right now) means individuals need to have freedom of choice for what works for them. Authoritarianism is anti-human and evil.
Anybody see how dumb joe Biden looked in a mask yesterday? Now I can see why trump doesn’t wear one!
It’s absolutely crystal clear to anyone who retains their sanity that the “Democrats” are an existential threat to each one of us, to our country, and to our civilization. It doesn’t matter how corrupt Republicans may be. The Democrats are duplicitous and dissimulating on each and every issue. #BELIEVEWOMEN unless they accuse one of us. #RIGHTTOCHOOSE only if it involves murdering the unborn. #SUPPORTLABOR unless it interferes with our goal to wreck the economy, permanently, and beyond repair.
Anyone who proclaims themselves a member of the Party of Preborn Infanticide – among other abominations – is every bit a threat to you, as was a Bolshevik to Russia & Eastern Europe in the 1920s through the 1950s. Act Accordingly. No more “cooperation.” No more “compliance.” Your life, and that of your family, depend upon it.
I can not read these comments without getting really pissed off at the lack of anything inteligent. Law allows an elected official to halt activities that increase the dangers to any society. This is not as new as some of you seem to believe. How difficult is it for you to help halt the spread of a deadly virus? Do you need to see the body bags? Yes you do. You need to see the dead bodies and the families who can’t even say good bye. Ya know it will be you and yours next. Why? Cause you are too Damn lazy, stupid and arrogant to give a f about anybody except what? You will follow the moron in the white house no matter what even if it means walking over your own parents graves.
Dorothy, Dorothy, Dorothy!
You make lots of assumptions. Your claims of we who are grounded in reality being “lazy,” “stupid,” and “arrogant” sure appear to be projections on your part.
I’m sorry you’re unable or unwilling to recognize that inalienable rights exist, which are secured by the Bill of Rights. Many of them are secured by the Ninth Amendment. These rights do not exist because someone wrote them down, nor are they “granted” by government. These inalienable rights cannot be legislated or “ruled” away by control freak lawyers in business suits or black dresses, no matter how much they – or you – want them to go away. Among such rights are the right to self-determination of one’s own life, to make a living, to travel, to visit family and friends, TO LIVE.
The enormously hyped threat of COVID-19 has proven to be a fraud. Does it kill people. It sure does – just like any virus. Does it kill people more readily than all other viruses? Absolutely not.
YOU, Dorothy, are supporting rule by decree that is KILLING people right now. Your demand to “feel safe” is driving tens of thousands of folks to suicide or behaviors that lead to deaths from despair. You don’t care one bit about them, since you regard them as less than you. YOU are harming my Mom right now, by supporting anti-constitutional “orders” keeping her confined to her home. YOU are personally responsible, in part, for tens of millions of people out of work, in dire straits, with no money, no food, and soon, if not already, no housing. That’s on YOU.
I’ve seen the body bags from the Hell-holes that are nursing homes. They’ve always been Hell-holes, and most gerontological professionals recognize sending someone there is a death sentence, virus or otherwise. I saw the body bags being buried in New York “mass graves,” only to quickly learn that those mass graves have been dug for 150 years! Typical media…yeah, the media, which creates the phony “reality” you live within. Have you gone down to a food line in one of the cities? I invite you to proudly go to one and tell those folks you think your demand to “feel safe” outweighs their need to feed their families.
As for Trump, I never supported the guy, in part because I’ve always considered him a liar. After all, he “was” a lifelong liberal Democrat, until rebranding served his purposes. I also realize his antics on the WWE are his style; he’s acting in the White House exactly as expected. But really, are you in any position to criticize Trump when your candidate is a rapist and, also like Trump, a lifelong liar? I remember Biden having to drop out in 1988 over his collection of lies he told back then.
Check yourself, dear Dorothy, before spewing out venom at us.
You’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy, but I’m not sure which LaLaLand you inhabit. If it wouldn’t interfere too much with your staunch determination to avoid research into the facts, here is a brief video to help you begin to understand where, JC, Theodore, Silver, and I among others you denigrate are coming from, that is, if you can spare 18 minutes of your time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnur8Bb7XRw
Newsom rocks and saves lives.
I’m going to laugh when CalPERS collapses, along with most State services. Fortunately, 90% of those receiving or expecting benefits therefrom support those who destroyed it, along with the rest of California’s economy.
You people are all about Karma. Enjoy it. I just wish those who didn’t want it didn’t have to suffer along with you Branch Covidian cultists.
Nuisance doesn’t even know the difference between a populous urban area and rural counties in the state he presumes to govern.
Biden 2020.
#BELIEVEWOMEN (unless the perp is a Democrat)