Donald Trump has long advocated for places of worship to open during the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, May 22, ahead of Memorial Day Weekend, the President of the United States ordered places of worship to open and deemed them “essential” business.
Trump urged state governors to allow churches to open and said that he would “override” them if they refuse, according to the New York Post.
“Today, I am identifying houses of worship, churches, synagogues, and mosques, as essential places that provide essential services,” Trump said at a White House briefing. “Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics is essential, but have left out churches and other houses of worship, it’s not right. So I am correcting this injustice and calling houses of worship essential. I call upon governors to allow churches and places of worship to open right now.
“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 do not do it, I will override the governors. In America, we need more prayer, not less.”
There is one problem, however. Trump does not have the power to force states to reopen.
Ultimately, the state governors have the final decision on when operations can return to normal, but that doesn’t mean Trump will not attempt to strongarm them or threaten to withhold federal funding as he has done in the past.
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
BREAKING: President @realDonaldTrump announces that the CDC will be issuing guidance declaring places of worship ESSENTIAL, allowing them to re-open as of this weekend! pic.twitter.com/G9TzIq1npK
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) May 22, 2020
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 95,200 deaths in the United States — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
