Last week, President Donald Trump called on governors to reopen houses of worship, calling it an “injustice” that that “liquor stores and abortion clinics” were open when churches were not.
With a slew of churches set to open their doors this weekend, some health experts are warning that these comparisons ignore the fact that worship services are substantially different from gatherings that take place in grocery stores and even in restaurants.
At the same time, houses of worship are likely more manageable than concerts and other massive gatherings in stadiums, since people in religious settings tend to be much more controlled and respectful of others nearby, according to Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.
Comparing churches to retail stores is like comparing apples to oranges, Winslow said, since certain risky behaviors are much more likely to take place during religious services.
How To Tell If Your House Of Worship Is Prepared For suggested that people who are determined to attend services this weekend take some time to evaluate how well their house of worship seems to have understood the risks of COVID-19.