Fresno churches have been closed two months. This councilman hopes to soon change that
Following the reopening of several new types of businesses closed during the coronavirus pandemic, Fresno Councilmember Mike Karbassi announced on Thursday he’ll move to have churches open as soon as possible.
Karbassi said he’s calling for a special meeting of the Fresno City Council to vote on allowing places of worship to open while observing Center for Disease Control guidelines like social distancing.
The announcement of the proposed legislation came hours after Fresno Mayor Lee Brand updated his emergency order to end the shelter-in-place on May 26, the day after Memorial Day, and allow most businesses to reopen with safety measures.
The business update will mandate residents wear masks inside and encourages that they be worn in public.
Karbassi said in similar fashion the city should clear the way for places of worship to open for when it is approved by health officials at the state and county level.
“If we can open restaurants, we should be able to open churches, synagogues, mosques and temples,” he said. “We still need to have safety protocols. We need to protect from the virus, but we need to show support for the faithful.”
The council is not set to meet again for a regular meeting until June 11. Karbassi said he looks to vote on the resolution sooner.
“This changes every single day,” he said. “We got to be ready to go when it happens.”
Several Southern California churches filed a lawsuit in April against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s orders to close. His order was upheld by the U.S. Eastern District Court.
Orders
Many businesses have been closed since Brand’s order on March 18. It had been extended through May 31, but was rescinded on Thursday.
Churches began closing several days earlier as health officials warned about the potential for large gatherings to spread COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.
The idea was met with praise with church leaders like the Rev. Kevin Foster of Life Bridge Community Church.
Gurpreet S. Maan of the Sikh Association of Fresno said religious groups offer social and spiritual support, and his organization has limited online services.
“We urge our city of Fresno policymakers to allow us to start opening up the faith-based congregations while keeping city’s guidance for the practices necessary to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” he said in a statement. “We will do our part to keep members of the community healthy and safe.”
