'Essential': Florida governor exempts churches

FPI / April 4, 2020

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has exempted religious services from his stay-at-home order aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

DeSantis, a Republican, deemed churches as “essential,” telling reporters during a Thursday press conference that the government does not have the authority to close a church and adding that they play an important role, particularly “in times like this.”

The governor said his order is designed to “limit their [Floridians’] movements and personal interactions outside of their home to only those necessary to obtain or provide essential services or conduct essential activities.” Essential activities include picking up groceries, going to doctor appointments, and, notably, attending “religious services conducted in churches, synagogues and houses of worship.”

Amid criticism, DeSantis defended his decision to include religious services as essential, saying that he spoke with churches and synagogues “very early on” and asked that they hold their services in a way “that is going to be conducive to this overall mission.”

"One, I don’t think the government has the authority to close a church. I’m certainly not going to do that. At the same time, we got with the churches and synagogues very early and said in times like this, what you guys are doing, I think, is even more important. But we ask that you do it in a way that is going to be conducive to this overall mission. And I would say almost all of them 100 percent agree. Some have gone virtual. Some have had people, but they’ve been spread out far enough," DeSantis said.

“I mean you guys are spread out, you know, here in this press conference. There’s no reason why you couldn’t do a church service with people ten feet apart,” DeSantis noted. “So we definitely asked them to absolutely abide by the social distancing guidelines.”

The governor added: "In times like this, I think the service they’re performing is going to be very important for people, especially when you have difficult circumstances and so do it right. Make sure that you’re following the mission. But I think particularly coming up in the Easter season, I think people are going to want to have access to religious services whether it’s online, whether it’s in a more socially distant type of service. But to have that available I think is very important."

As for the order itself, DeSantis, an ally of President Donald Trump, said the president agreed with his decision.

“I did speak with the president about it,” DeSantis said. “He agreed with the approach of focusing on the hot spots. But at the same time, he understood that this is another 30-day situation and you gotta just do what makes the most sense.”

Free Press International