Coronavirus: hundreds ignore Covid-19 gatherings ban to attend Sunday church services in Louisiana
- More than 3,500 Louisiana residents have been diagnosed with the disease caused by a new coronavirus, and more than 150 of them have died
Hundreds of people flouted Louisiana’s Covid-19 ban on gatherings, coming on buses and in personal vehicles to the first of three Sunday services at their church a day after New Orleans police broke up a funeral gathering of about 100 people.
An estimated 500 people of all ages filed inside the mustard-yellow and beige Life Tabernacle church in Central, a city of nearly 29,000 outside Baton Rouge.
More than 3,500 Louisiana residents have been diagnosed with the disease caused by a new coronavirus, and more than 150 of them have died, according to state figures released Sunday. Deaths include that of the first federal prison inmate – a man with “serious pre-existing conditions” who was being held in Oakdale, Louisiana, the US Bureau of Prisons said Saturday.
Assistant ministers and worshippers outside the front doors and in the car park at Life Tabernacle told media to leave, saying cameras would not be allowed on the property and worshippers had been told not to talk to reporters. They went inside without further comment.
Across the street, neighbours gathered in a driveway, carefully staying at least 6 feet (about two metres) apart.