Trump tells churches to reopen this weekend. How can services be held safely?

President Donald Trump declared places of worship essential on Friday and vowed to “override” any state government that refuses to allow them to reopen.

For the last two months, most of America’s faithful have been worshiping remotely, as experts and officials put a halt to large gatherings. Some congregations have spent that time preparing for the day they can come together again and thinking of ways they can do it safely.

For Indiana’s churches, that day already came earlier this month.

Tony Alstott, a southern Indiana pastor, told the Courier-Journal that his chapel stocked up on hand sanitizer and disinfectant, and in the service room that normally seats 280, 145 chairs were put down, with plenty of space between them. And in between services, regular cleanings are done.

Still, Alstott said he can’t recommend all members of the flock return yet.

“We continue to invite people in the vulnerable category to continue to worship online. We don’t want them to be exposed,” he told the outlet. “Our hope is that we can come and have a worship experience and everybody’s safe.”

In San Francisco, church leaders said they have been making modifications to their facilities, installing plexiglass shields, distancing markers and even “industrial mixing equipment … to create large volumes of sanitizing liquids,” KPIX reported.

In an effort to allow as many worshipers as possible and still maintain social distancing, one church is even creating an outdoor viewing area equipped with a barista, all to accommodate any potential overflow, according to KPIX.

Pastor Bob Jones of Oakland’s Acts Full Gospel Church told the outlet that churches are going to have to change the way they operate, possibly for good.

“We’re not going to do church as usual. Forget that … that is finished!” he said. “And I don’t think we ever will because of the coronavirus.”

Medical experts have recommended staying away from in-person religious services.

“Going to a crowded church, temple, mosque, or whatever is not a great idea right now,” Elizabeth Carlton, a professor at the Colorado School of Public Health, told The Atlantic, adding that religious services “probably raise my concern more than many other things we’ve talked about.”

In March, 52 churchgoers in Washington were infected during a superspreader event, and a month before, 37 worshipers caught coronavirus at a church in South Korea, according to Livescience.

An Arkansas church saw 35 members come down with the virus through similar circumstances, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

The CDC also suggests that gatherings of more than 10 should be canceled in communities where there’s even “minimal to moderate” coronavirus transmission.