As Easter approaches, the City of St. Louis has had to issue cease and desist letters as a warning to some churches and businesses to remind them of the COVID-19 restrictions that are in place to discourage social gatherings and events.
“Our goal with these letters is not to be overly punitive or to punish a business or church even more,” said Jacob Long, Mayor Lyda Krewon’s director of communications. “They’re already going through enough. We want to work with their issues with them. We just insist on compliance, though, because it is a public health issue.”
So far, Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church and St. John Church of God in Christ were cited by the health department for ignoring crowd restrictions defined by Krewson’s March 21 order, which limits social gatherings to 10 people or less, according to media reports.
“By and large, the vast majority of businesses and members of the general public, we believe, are complying with the mandatory stay at home order,” Long told the St. Louis Record. “Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, for instance, has since agreed to comply, as have other businesses.”
As of yesterday, April 9, there were 565 positive COVID-19 cases in the City of St. Louis and 192 persons being monitored, according to a press release that also urged families to honor religious traditions while still practicing physical distancing from others.
“Everyone we’ve encountered thus far has been understanding and willing to do their part to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in the City of St. Louis,” Long said.