Americans spent Sunday on lockdown as the US toll from the novel coronavirus pandemic surpassed 20,500 deaths and more than half a million confirmed cases over the Easter weekend, AP reports.
With almost all the country under stay-at-home orders to curb the spread of the disease, many turned to online church services to mark the holiest day in the Christian calendar.
“Future generations will look back on this as the long Lent of 2020, a time when disease and death suddenly darkened the whole earth,” Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles wrote to priests and parishioners nationwide, urging them to hold steadfast.
A view from inside Easter Sunday morning services at The Friendship Baptist Church on April 12, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. The church pastor, Alvin Gwynn, has decided to keep his church open for Easter Sunday despite an order from Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to remain closed amid the coronavirus pandemic. — AFP
People attend a drive-in Easter service at the Church of Our Savior service amid the coronavirus outbreak on April 12, 2020 in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis has not closed places of worship, but is still urging residents to adhere to social distance guidelines. — AFP
A person dressed as an Easter bunny blows bubbles with Genevieve Pina, 3, while making a surprise visit during a day full of Easter festivities, amid the ongoing coronavirus disease outbreak, in Plymouth, Michigan, US, on April 11, 2020. — Reuters
A few people take to the steps at the Lincoln Memorial during the coronavirus disease outbreak, where normally thousands of Christians would gather for worship at Easter sunrise, in Washington, US, on April 12, 2020. — Reuters
The government’s constant threats to suspend KP’s elected dispensation over a political protest have escalated hostilities considerably. In that context, both sides did well to start talking.
