Merced County adds drive-in churches to list of services allowed during pandemic
An amended health order was issued Friday by the Merced County Department of Public Health which expanded essential services to include drive-in services for churches and faith-based organizations.
Meanwhile, total confirmed coronavirus cases in Merced County rose to 102 cases Friday after reaching triple digits Thursday, according to County Public Health. A total of 61 residents have recovered, and three have died. Those numbers remained the same with Saturday morning’s update from County Public Health.
Up until recently, places of worship were not deemed essential places where people could gather under the state’s shelter-in-place order to prevent coronavirus transmission.
Plus, animal care facilities, drive-through automatic car washes and pool maintenance were also added to the list of essential services.
“It is our hope that the changes to the Order will promote public health and safety and still allow for essential services to thrive in our community,” said County Public Health Director Dr. Rebecca Nanyonjo-Kemp in a Merced County news release.
The county will continue adding to the list of essential businesses within the parameters of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order, the release said.
The order is effective immediately, according to County Public Health.
The amended order comes after the Attorney General of California recently issued court directives allowing drive-in church services to be held amid the pandemic.
As of yet, few Merced County churches seem to have opted for drive-in services. Area pastors say between online services working well, and various logistical concerns about drive-up worship, church services will likely remain online for the next few weeks.
“We’ve had considerably more people online than any time we’ve had people on site,” said Gateway Community Church Senior Pastor Al Schaap. Online services are able to reach Gateway’s large congregation, making them better suited than drive-up services for the time being, he said.
Gateway may implement some form of combined drive-up and online service in the future, Schaap said.
Other pastors cited concerns over putting people’s health at risk by leaving their homes or sitting in hot cars while the days become increasingly warm.
Some Merced County churches have already been doing drive-up style services with permission from the Sheriff’s Office, Schaap said.
Schaap said some churches have been doing drive-through communion.
Once social limitations relax as the pandemic eventually calms down, some local churches are planning a collaborative service for the public to worship together, said United Methodist Church of Merced Pastor Ella Luna-Garza.
However, there is no way to know when such a congregation will be able to take place.
“We’re not going to endanger people, we’re not going to put people at risk,” Schapp said.
Merced County coronavirus demographics
Those Merced County residents who have recovered have been symptom free with no medication for 72 hours. Active coronavirus cases locally total 38. Three Merced County residents have died from COVID-19 complications.
Of the 102 total county cases, 56 are women and 46 are men.
At 65 cases, the majority of infected residents fall within 18-49 age range. Individuals age 50-64 are next at 23 total cases. Those over age 65 account for 11 cases, and those under age 18 make up only three.
Infected individuals in Los Banos rose by two to 36 total, County Public Health reported. The City of Merced still has 18 cases, Delhi 11, and Gustine and Atwater 7 each.
As of Friday in California, there were 40,911 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,596 deaths.
Other counties
In Stanislaus County, five people have died from coronavirus, 187 people have recovered and there have been a total of 264 positive cases. Also, it was announced Friday that the Stanislaus County Fair has been canceled.
Another three people have died in Tulare County after testing positive for the coronavirus, officials said Friday.
Close to a dozen deaths have been reported in the county this week. Twenty-eight people have died there from coronavirus-related illness since the outbreak began.
Tulare County Health and Human Service confirmed the deaths in its daily update online, along with 19 news cases of the virus. This brings the county’s total number of cases to 472. Another 536 people are under self-quarantine and being monitored by health officials.
Neither Madera nor Kings counties reported new numbers from Thursday.
Madera County added no new cases Friday. Thirty-nine cases have been reported, one person has died and 27 have recovered.
Kings County had 35 positive cases as of Friday evening. One person has died and nine have recovered.
This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 7:20 PM.
