Jared Moskowitz says religious institutions should follow social distancing guidelines, but the Governor’s EO doesn’t require it

The Rev. Alvin J. Gwynn Sr., of Friendship Baptist Church in Baltimore, sits in his church's sanctuary, Thursday, March 19, 2020. He bucked the cancellation trend by holding services the previous Sunday. But attendance was down by about 50%, and Gwynn said the day’s offering netted about $5,000 compared to a normal intake of about $15,000. “It cuts into our ministry,” he said. “If this keeps up, we can’t fund all our outreach to help other people.” (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)

Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz said it’s “not the time” for religious institutions to host large services as a statewide “stay-at-home” order is set to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

But Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis clarified that statewide order would preempt local orders which explicitly bar such gatherings.

As Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics reports, the state order “allows churches to continue holding services even if those congregations exceed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guideline on social distancing that limits gatherings to 10 or fewer individuals.”

But in a talk with Rep. Shevrin Jones Thursday afternoon, Moskowitz had a different message for those wishing to attend religious services.

Moskowitz began by recognizing the value religion can offer as many Floridians are feeling stress over the impact of the novel coronavirus.

“I do think religious institutions are an essential business, an essential activity. In these times, I do think people of different faiths should rely on prayer if that’s what they feel is necessary. People of all faiths should go and help serve their congregation” Moskowitz said.

“However, having services on Saturday in temples and having services on Sunday in churches is not in the spirit of the 30 Days to Stop the Spread. We still have all our social distancing measures. And so the [suggestion of] no more than 10 people in those areas would apply. We want people to do social distancing.”

“And so this is not the time to go fill the pews in churches on Sunday. This is not the time to go fill the congregation on Saturday before Passover. But we want people to be able to pray. We want pastors and priests and rabbis and imams to find creative ways to reach out to their congregations.”

Those recommendations may or may not be heeded as the Governor’s Thursday clarification specifically invalidates local orders barring religious institutions from holding large gatherings.

Earlier this week, Brandon Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne was arrested after defying a local order that restricted church services in defiance of CDC guidelines.