Lawmakers hope to exclude places of worship from emergency closures
Neelam Bohra
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When 53 people contracted COVID-19 at the Calvary Chapel of San Antonio in June, the church closed for two weeks to protect the rest of its parishioners. It had shut down months before, when the pandemic first swept over Texas and local officials quickly shuttered businesses, office buildings and other places where people gather in person.
More than a year since the government-mandated closure last spring, Pastor Ron Arbaugh says the county didn’t have the right to shutter his church. And despite the outbreak after Gov. Greg Abbott allowed churches to reopen and deemed religious services essential, Arbaugh doesn’t regret welcoming the congregation back.