New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for stronger enforcement of his capacity limits on religious institutions and vowed to shut down any institution found in violation of them.
Cuomo blamed the reopening of schools and large events held at religious institutions for the uptick in coronavirus cases in the state. He pointed to photographs of recent large religious gatherings and said that he will be having law enforcement watch religious centers to ensure their compliance with the 50% capacity limit.
“If you do not agree to enforce the rules, then we’ll close the institutions down. I am prepared to do that. … The enforcement will help the community. If the rule is no more than 50% of the people in a black church, I want someone at that door when 50% enter the church, a person there who says to the pastor, ‘You agreed to follow the rules, that’s 50%. That’s it, or we close it down,'” Cuomo said.
“It does not work without enforcement. But both of those conditions have to be in place. And if I do not have the agreement from the religious community directly as a starting point, then we will close down the religious institutions,” he added.
Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have frustrated religious institutions with strict limitations on in-person gatherings, such as funerals or weddings, especially in Orthodox Jewish communities.
Cuomo said he would meet with leaders in the Orthodox Jewish community to detail his plans to enforce capacity limits in synagogues after several neighborhoods with large orthodox populations had upticks in coronavirus cases.
