COVID-19 has closed Bay Area places of worship. Since the Bay Area shelter-in-place order, religious holidays for three faith traditions been impacted by COVID-19 precautions: Passover, Easter, and Ramadan.
Governor Gavin Newsom recently issued new guidelines for places of worship to re-open, and some Oakland church leaders have different reactions.
East Oakland pastor, Bishop Bob Jackson of Acts Full Gospel Church has vowed to reopen his church this Sunday. Two weeks ago, Jackson hosted a re-open rally and called church services “essential.”
Word Assembly Pastor Johnnie Clark contracted COVID-19, but recovered. He urged churches not to re-open. He advised, “How dare you? Who are you to tell people to go to a place that’s unsafe?”
See the state guidelines for the reopening of places of worship.
McDonald’s employees on Strike
Workers at an Oakland McDonald’s recently went on strike to protect working conditions, shutting down multiple locations. Workers at the East Oakland franchise left work on Saturday citing unsafe conditions. The Telegraph Ave store told employees to use diapers as masks.
Boots Riley gives OUSD commencement speech
Oakland activists/rapper-turned-filmmaker Boots Riley gave a commencement address to Oakland students in partnership with the teacher’s union. Three years ago Boots withdrew from speaking at UC Berkeley’s Black Graduation in solidarity with striking custodial workers.
In case you missed it, Oakland Voices correspondent Tony Daquipa has been covering OUSD schools.
COVID-19 in Oakland
Oakland Voices reported last week that Oakland had 849 COVID-19 cases. As of Memorial Day, coronavirus cases grew to 1,000. Last night, Oakland Voices hosted a conversation between a Oakland-based journalists Davey D and Darwin Bondgraham about covering COVID-19 in Oakland.
Have suggestions for our weekly COVID-19 ‘Rona Roundups? Please Email us your news tips.
Every Monday and Thursday, Momo Chang and Rasheed Shabazz round-up Oakland-related COVID-19 coverage for Oakland Voices.
Rasheed Shabazz is a multimedia storyteller, urban planning historian, and youth development professional based in the Bay Area. He is co-director of Oakland Voices. He recently completed his Masters of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley.
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