CNA Staff, May 12, 2020 / 16:00 pm
The bishops of England and Wales have expressed disappointment after the government said churches in the U.K. should remain closed until at least July 4.
The bishops issued a statement May 11 after U.K. officials published a document Monday setting out plans to ease the nationwide lockdown imposed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"The timing and the manner of the opening of churches touches profound sensitivities and spiritual needs. The government's document and statements fail to recognize this," a spokesman for the bishops' conference said.
The government insisted that places of worship would open "no earlier than 4 July", and be subject to five "tests," including a consistent fall in daily death rates.
The U.K., which has a population of almost 67 million, has recorded 32,789 deaths from the virus as of May 12, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center -- the world's second highest reported death toll after that of the United States.