Easter celebrations are going to look a little different this year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
With “stay at home” orders imposed around the country, families won’t be spending time together at the dinner table, Easter baskets won’t be blessed, and parishioners won’t be allowed to attend in-person church services.
Police in Kentucky are taking it one step further to ensure that everyone obeys and continues practicing social distancing during the holiday weekend.
According to the Louisville Courier Journal, Louisville police plan to record and write down license plate numbers of anyone attending church in person on Easter Sunday.
Most churches have closed down to combat the spread of the virus, but a handful are still offering drive-in services, which police urged residents to skip. Instead, churches are offering live video streams of mass for those who want to attend virtually.
All license plate information of those attending church in-person will be turned over to the city’s health department, the publication notes.
The state’s health department said the information gathered would help track the spread of the virus in the state, pinpoint infected residents, and notify others.
"If we have a case, we have a list of names of who needs to quarantine and isolate," Dr. Sarah Moyer, the city's public health director. "And it'll just make our investigation go quicker, as well.”
“If we allowed this in Louisville, we’d have hundreds of thousands of people driving around the city Sunday, and boy, the virus would just love that,” Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer explained.
He clarified that residents will not be cited or charged for attending church, but cops will give out pamphlets with information.
"What we want to do is inform people if they're out," Fischer clarified, adding, "if they're out, they clearly don't understand the danger of congregating and being out."
According to The New York Times, Kentucky has recorded 1,702 positive cases since April 10 with 90 deaths.
One church in Philadelphia is disregarding the "stay at home" order. The Greater Exodus Baptist Church will remain open. Rev. Dr. Herb Lusk said he’ll stream a one-hour service online, but he will also open the church to anyone who wants to experience Easter Sunday in-person.
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