Trump White House overrode CDC Covid guidance for churches, emails show

Trump White House overrode Covid guidance for churches, emails show CDC planned to suggest in 2020 that religious communities hold services online but key passages were struck out the Guardian

Donald Trump’s administration overrode Covid-19 guidance to religious organizations, according to newly released emails, which would have encouraged churches to consider virtual religious services rather than in-person worship.

In May 2020, as coronavirus cases and deaths surged, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent the White House a draft of its planned guidance to faith-based communities, seeking approval for publication.

At the time coronavirus cases were increasingly being reported in churches across the US. Cases would continue to soar in places of worship in the following months.

In response, the CDC planned to suggest that religious groups restrict in-person attendance at services, and instead hold them online.

When that guidance arrived at the White House, however, it prompted discussions which ended up with important passages being struck out. In an email exchange with Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to Trump, Paul Ray, the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, suggested a series of edits.