Covid-19: ‘In-person services and masses are prohibited,’ says BH mayor in response to Nunes Marques decision | Minas Gerais

“In Belo Horizonte, we follow the Plenary of the Supreme Federal Court. What counts is the mayor’s decree. Face-to-face services and masses are prohibited,” he said on his social networks.

Kalil refers to the decision of the STF of April 2020 that determines that, in addition to the federal government, your state and municipal governments they have the power to determine rules of isolation, quarantine and restriction of transport and traffic on the roads due to the coronavirus epidemic.

According to the individual decision of Minister Nunes Marques, taken on the eve of this Sunday (5) of Easter, the governors and mayors cannot demand compliance with previously published norms that prevent the holding of masses, services and meetings of any creed and religion. .

In the decision, the minister also established that it will be necessary to respect sanitary measures as a way of trying to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, including:

• Limit occupancy to 25% of the capacity of the place;
• Maintain space between seats with alternate occupation between rows of chairs or benches;
• Leave the space airy, with windows and doors open whenever possible;
• Demand that people wear masks;
• Have alcohol gel at the entrances to the temples;
• Check the temperature of those who enter the temples.

The release of services and masses in the country, through preventive measures, occurs at the most critical moment of the pandemic, which is close to 330 thousand deaths from Covid-19, with a moving average above 3,000 daily deaths and lack of ICU beds. .in hospitals across the country.

Nunes Marques granted the precautionary measure in an action by the National Association of Evangelical Jurists (Anajure), which questioned state (Piauí and Roraima) and municipal (João Monlevade-MG, Macapá-AP, Serrinha-BA, Bebedouro-SP, Cajamar- SP), the Rio Brilhante-MS and Armação dos Búzios-RJ) decrees that suspended religious celebrations as measures to combat the pandemic.

According to Anajure, the decrees violated “the fundamental right to religious freedom and the principle of state secularism, by determining the unrestricted suspension of religious activities in the city.”

Nunes Marques, rapporteur of the case in the Supreme Court, explained that he granted the precautionary measure because he considered that there was “danger in the delay” of the decision that a country with a Christian majority contemplates during Holy Week, “a moment of singular importance for the celebration “of the beliefs of the population.

“I recognize that the moment is one of caution, in view of the pandemic context that we are experiencing. Even so, and precisely because we are living in such difficult times, it is more necessary to recognize the essentiality of religious activity, responsible, among other functions, of providing welcome and spiritual comfort ”, he said.

The rapporteur argued that there are different norms throughout the country on the subject and considered that the generic prohibition of religious activity is “burdensome” as was done in the decrees, which violates religious freedom. “Simply prohibiting the exercise of any religious practice violates reasonableness and proportionality,” he wrote.

The minister cited the operation of public transport during the pandemic and concluded that “it is possible to reopen temples and churches, although it is done in a prudent and cautious manner, that is, with respect to minimum parameters that observe social distance and that do not encourage unnecessary crowds. ”.

See the most viewed videos of G1 Minas