A church in Northern California has been ordered by a court to stop holding large indoor gatherings in violation of public health orders created to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The Santa Clara County Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order Monday prohibiting the Calvary Chapel in San Jose from holding large indoor gatherings after the church was repeatedly cited by county officials for violating Covid-19 restrictions and accruing more than $350,000 in fines.
Calvary Chapel hosted indoor gatherings with as many as 600 people, posing the threat of a superspreader event, the court said.
Despite repeated warnings and fines, Calvary Chapel has been holding in-person services since May without the use of masks or social distancing, county officials said.
Under the county health orders, indoor gatherings are limited to 100 people and masks and social distancing must be followed.
California has the second highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases out of any state in the country, with more than 940,000 cases confirmed as of Monday night, according to Johns Hopkins University Covid-19 data. In Santa Clara County, where San Jose is located, JHU data shows 25,277 confirmed cases.
The county reported 142 new cases Monday and three additional deaths for a total of 409 fatalities related to Covid-19, the Santa Clara County Public Health website shows.
The order is a victory for Santa Clara County district attorney and county counsel, who jointly filed an injunction last week under the pretense that the church had been flouting county health orders. The county DA and counsel filed the suit because they felt legal action had become the “only remedy.” The pastor, Mike McClure, was also named in the lawsuit.
“County officials spent months trying to work with church officials to get them to come into compliance voluntarily and issued fines when they refused,” county officials said in a statement last week. “After church officials made clear they had no intention of ending their dangerous conduct, the County Counsel and District Attorney filed the request for a court order.”
The suit alleged the church was holding in-person services, which it “trumpeted” on livestreams, endangering congregants and nonmembers alike.
“Santa Clara County has been fortunate to have the entire community come together, but this particular entity has been unwilling to follow any of the precautions,” James Williams, Santa Clara County counsel, told CNN last week. “Our only goal is to have them practice their faith in a safe manner.”
The church also did not follow the mandate of reporting positive cases to the county, the filing said, making it difficult to determine whether the church has been involved in any superspreader events.
“We are satisfied by the Court’s recognition that these violations of County and State Health Officer orders pose a threat to the broader community and issued an injunction to require the implementation of public health safeguards,” Williams said in a news release Monday.
Calvary Chapel and McClure have not responded to multiple CNN requests for comment.
The court has scheduled a hearing on December 1 to determine whether to extend the temporary restraining order.
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