Tennessee Officials Investigate Large Worship Event Where Many Ignored COVID-19 Guidances
Health officials in Tennessee are investigating a Nashville Christian event where much of the crowd did not wear masks.
The Metro Nashville Health Department said it was “very concerned” about the event, which featured Christian musician Sean Feucht. Feucht has held anti-coronavirus events all over the country.
The Christian event was held in Nashville outside at Public Square Park, but organizers did not get a permit for the event, the Health Department said.
According to NBC News, the concert showed a large crowd where many were not wearing masks.
Feucht, 37, was escorted out of the event, he said on Twitter.
But Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake said in a statement that police were “not present” at the concert.
“I am greatly disappointed that the organizer of Sunday’s event and those in attendance did not better prioritize their health and the health of others through social distancing and the wearing of face coverings,” he said. “Personal responsibility is a necessity regardless of the purpose for a public event.”
During Labor Day weekend, Feucht held a protest and concert in Seattle, where he and others protested coronavirus restrictions.
RNS said the events are a “mix of Christian concert, healing service, guerrilla street theater and spectator mosh pit” and “feature the kind of public singing forbidden under many COVID-19 regulations.”
NBC News reported that Feucht has scheduled similar events for the end of October, including one at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
In Davidson County, where Nashville is located, there have been more than 28,000 coronavirus cases and 321 deaths.
The John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center says there has been a steady increase in new daily cases over the last week. In early September, during a one-week period, 213 people died, the highest tally of the pandemic.
Photo courtesy: Sean Feucht Facebook, this is an image from a rally in Portland, Oregon.
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
