How long can a government suspend the right to freedom of worship because of the coronavirus? Under Illinois Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan, a year or more.
That’s, at least, the likelihood created by the five-phase plan unveiled by the governor called Restore Illinois.
“We have to figure out how to live with COVID-19 until it can be vanquished – and to do so in a way that best supports our residents’ health and our health care systems, and saves the most lives,” Pritzker said Tuesday, according to WMAQ-TV.
Restore Illinois is a five-phase plan for lifting the stay-at-home order Illinois is under. The state is currently at phase two — past the first phase, where only essential businesses are allowed to stay open, but where businesses can only offer curbside pickup and delivery and residents must wear face coverings.
It’s not until phase three that gatherings of up to 10 people are allowed and gatherings of up to 50 people are allowed at phase 4. Finally, when phase five — dubbed “Illinois Restored” — arrives, you can have gatherings in whatever size you see fit.
So what’s it take to get to phase five of Restore Illinois? “With a vaccine or highly effective treatment widely available or the elimination of any new cases over a sustained period, the economy fully reopens with safety precautions continuing,” the plan states.
Gov. Pritzker was asked about whether this applied to churches at his media briefing on Thursday and gave the usual mic-drop answer to the whole thing, which is that a) of course and b) this is the scientists talking.
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