Places of worship will be allowed to reopen for individual prayer from Monday, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick announced last week.

The ruling around individual prayer means a single person or household can enter a place of worship to pray on their own, but not as part of a group, led prayer or communal act.

They also must ensure they are socially distanced from other individuals and households.

The announcement excludes services, evensong, informal prayer meetings, mass, Jummah and Kirtan, as well as baptisms and weddings.

Dr John Inge, Bishop of Worcester and Rev. Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield, have both welcomed the decision by the government, but also voiced a note of caution going forward.

Read it all.

The ruling around individual prayer means a single person or household can enter a place of worship to pray on their own, but not as part of a group, led prayer or communal act.https://t.co/8b5MZSd2kz

— Express & Star (@ExpressandStar) June 11, 2020

Ten days in May. Twenty-four churches around New York City. Nearly 20,000 coronavirus tests.

Over the past few weeks, churches serving communities of color have been transformed overnight into mini-clinics offering free coronavirus tests to all comers. The initiative, a partnership of the churches, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office and Northwell Health, is an effort to expand testing among black and Hispanic citizens, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Black and Latino New Yorkers have succumbed to Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, at twice the rate of whites, a result of entrenched economic and health disparities, denser housing and a higher risk of exposure on the job.

Participants were asked to preregister by phone, but walk-ins were accommodated so long as they lined up six feet apart and wore masks. Among those who sought testing on a cool, sunny Wednesday in May were two teenage brothers who recently went to a hospital to take home their 50-year-old father, only to find he had died of the virus.

“We were expecting him to be released and were texting with him,” said one brother, who identified himself only as Angel.

Read it all.

Ten days in May. Twenty-four churches around New York City. Nearly 20,000 coronavirus tests.

Over the past few weeks, churches serving communities of color have been transformed overnight into mini-clinics offering free coronavirus tests to all comers. https://t.co/WB9v4uFjjp

— Father Edward Beck (@FrEdwardBeck) June 11, 2020

South Carolina saw over 600 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, meaning the state has confirmed more cases in a seven-day period than had been identified throughout all of April.

The sum of cases discovered Wednesday and Thursday is also more than in all of March.

Officials resurrected pleas for personal accountability in social distancing and mask-wearing after Gov. Henry McMaster’s Wednesday statement that he doesn’t plan to revive the statewide shutdown to slow the disease spread.

Read it all.

DHEC today announced 687 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and 13 additional deaths.

This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 16,441 and those who have died to 588.

Release: https://t.co/dqmFz1tmlP pic.twitter.com/W1lYTNkm20

— SCDHEC (@scdhec) June 11, 2020

AS churches up and down the country prepare to open for private prayer next week, but one cathedral is remaining closed until staff can unsure the building is safe.

Durham Cathedral is remaining closed due to the operational complexities involved in preparing a building of this scale for reopening, the cathedral will not reopen for private prayer on June 15, but it aspires to do so at a later point this month.

At present, cathedral clergy and staff are working hard to ensure the building is safe for staff, volunteers and members of the public to return to, at this stage for private prayer and quiet reflection only.

The Cathedral believes it is of the utmost importance that everyone onsite feels confident, safe and protected and we need to take the time to get this right….

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The Durham Cathedral Cloisters. pic.twitter.com/4YmknpP9QN

— Traditional Western Architecture 🏛 (@Trad_West_Arch) June 3, 2020

As restrictions are lifted around the world, the sense of urgency surrounding the novel coronavirus pandemic has weakened. Hundreds of millions of students have returned to school; restaurants, bars and other businesses are slowly reopening in many countries. In parts of Europe, vaccine researchers worry that they will not have enough sick people for testing.

But this historic pandemic is not ending. It is surging. There were 136,000 new infections reported on Sunday, the highest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic. There are more than 7 million confirmed cases so far. The number of deaths is nearing half a million, with little sign of tapering off, and global health experts are continuing to sound the alarm.

“By no means is this over,” Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization’s executive director, said Wednesday. “If we look at the numbers over the last number of weeks, this pandemic is still evolving. It is still growing in many parts of the world.”

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Analysis: The coronavirus pandemic isn’t ending — it’s surging https://t.co/sM1kH8UWPu

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 11, 2020

When we exercise, the levels of thousands of substances in our bloodstream rise and drop, according to an eye-opening new study of the immediate, interior impacts of working out. The study is the most comprehensive cataloging to date of the molecular changes that occur during and after exercise and underscores how consequential activity — and inactivity — may be for our bodies and health.

Already, of course, we have reams of evidence that exercise alters our metabolisms, muscles, genes, immune responses, hearts, stamina and almost every other organ and biological system within us. But only in recent years, with the development of sophisticated new techniques for counting and typing the thousands upon thousands of different molecules within us, have scientists been able to quantify more of the substances and steps involved in those processes.

With these techniques, they have zeroed in on various sets of molecules in our bloodstreams associated with different aspects of our biology. This research generally is known as “omics” science. Metabolomics, for instance, enumerates and analyzes molecules in our blood that influence metabolism — everything from appetite hormones to enzymes excreted by gut microbes. Genomics maps the molecules involved in gene expression; proteomics ditto for proteins; lipidomics for fat-related molecules; and so on.

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Our Exercising, Our Selves: How a workout creates a “molecular symphony.” Incredible. https://t.co/cBUtHRZ9vM

— Gerry Marzorati (@marzoTennis) June 11, 2020

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced 528 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and 7 additional deaths.

This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 15,759 and those who have died to 575.

Five of the deaths occurred in elderly individuals from Chesterfield (1), Florence (1), Greenville (2), and Spartanburg (1) counties, and 2 middle-aged individuals from Greenville (1) and Newberry (1) counties.

Read it all.

“I have to say that today, I am more concerned about COVID-19 in South Carolina than I ever have been before,” state epidimiologist Linda Bell said.https://t.co/zzR5U2oUIK

— Sarah Ellis (@ellissk04) June 10, 2020

While we can stream services, and are still able to help people through our food banks, most priests and churchgoers have been feeling impotent and frustrated over the last few months. Those feelings have bubbled over into anger about priests not being able to be in our church buildings, streaming from there rather than from our kitchen tables — as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, did on Easter Day.

This article is not about that debate, and indeed we are now back at our altars. Don’t get me wrong — it raised important questions, and I took part in it. It was however a brittle debate, with a lack of charity on both sides. And that is not the voice the country wanted or needed to hear in the midst of a national crisis. Rather than speaking to the nation, we spoke to ourselves. And that was a major failing as the established church. Job, early on in his proverbial sufferings, is told: “Your words have supported those who were stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees. But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed.” That is the Church of England right now.

The reason for our failure is a lack of confidence. We have so much to say at a time like this — about how to cope with death, how prayer can give structure to our days, about the nature of sacrifice for the good of one another, how love conquers death. We are saying these things in our parishes and putting it into action. But we shot ourselves in the foot when it came to the kind of spiritual guidance the country needed. Some were saying those things, including Justin Welby, but they weren’t heard because of the white noise we were also producing by our internal fractiousness.

Read it all.

The Church of England faltered when our country needed spiritual guidance | London Evening Standard https://t.co/wMEOYNnzxa

— Giles Fraser (@giles_fraser) June 9, 2020

After high school, Dr. Henry joined the naval reserves, drawn by the camaraderie, naval navigation and communication techniques, and the lure of the open ocean. She enlisted in her third year of medical school and graduated to become a fleet medical officer in Esquimalt, B.C., not far from where she lives now.

“I look back on it now, a lot of the work I was doing with a group of captive men was prevention. They would tease me about always telling them to wear sunscreen and use condoms,” said Dr. Henry, who stayed with the navy for almost 10 years, meeting her husband there. (They separated five years ago, after 20 years of marriage, and never had children.)

During a gastrointestinal outbreak onboard, Dr. Henry used basic epidemiological legwork and a microscope to trace the source of the sickness to contaminated bottled water they’d taken on board in Tahiti.

One day at her job at a clinic in San Diego, a man burst in with a gun, demanding to talk to someone. Dr. Henry stepped forward. “I said, ‘I’m somebody. Let’s talk,’” she recalled. “He burst into tears. He was in pain and distraught.”

Read it all.

Dr. Bonnie Henry kept the coronavirus in check in British Columbia without harsh enforcement methods. “This is our time to be kind,” she said, “to be calm and to be safe.” https://t.co/w6wT1IC3O6

— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 5, 2020

Following a record breaking day, Department of Health and Environmental Control officials announced Tuesday that South Carolina has surpassed 15,000 coronavirus cases.

On Tuesday, 434 more people tested positive for the virus, and 11 additional people have died after contracting it, DHEC officials said. The 434 represented 14.7% of the total daily number of tests results reported Tuesday — the highest daily rate of infection the state has seen in at least the last 28 days.

Another statistic also is rapidly rising: the number of hospital beds across the state occupied by patients with confirmed COVID-19 cases or who are under investigation for the disease. On Saturday, for example, the state had 482 COVID patients being treated in hospital. In just two days, that number has rocketed up to 541.

Read it all.

As SC surpasses 15,000 #COVID_19 cases, infection rates, hospitalizations hit new highs –> via @emilybohatch #sctweets #coronavirus https://t.co/CSSlNdMCg7

— Jamie Self (@jamiemself) June 9, 2020

Beyond the glass lay a man, unconscious in the electric blue light, shrouded in tubes. His family was not allowed to visit. His body could not be touched.

Father Ryan Connors stood at the door watching, his Roman collar barely visible beneath his face shield.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, he had gone to the bedsides of Covid-19 patients across the Boston area to perform one of the oldest religious rituals for the dying: the Roman Catholic practice commonly called last rites.

For centuries, priests have physically anointed the dying with oil to heal body and soul, if not in this life, in the next. Many Catholics have spent their entire lives trusting that in their most difficult hours a priest, and through him God, would come to their aid.

On this Tuesday morning, in the intensive care unit at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, west of the city, all that Father Connors knew about the patient was his name, and that his family had called for a priest.

He had a clear plastic bag with a cotton ball containing a few drops of holy oil. He carried a photocopy of pages from a liturgical book.

At 10:18 a.m., he slid open the door. He walked over to the bed, careful to avoid the tubes on the ground.

He stretched out his hand, and began to pray….

Read it all.

Jesuit Brian Conley SJ quoted in NY Times article “The Last Anointing” about the importance of the Sacrament of Anointing the Sick to Catholic COVID patients and the challenges faced by hospital chaplains during the pandemic. https://t.co/vKHdmfP2Fg pic.twitter.com/3WD4CgadSA

— Jesuits West (@jesuitswest) June 8, 2020

Following a week of record breaking coronavirus case counts, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control identified 542 more people infected with the virus, they said Monday.

The announcement marks a new single-day high in reported cases, the third time in four days that the state has broken that record.

“This comes after a week in which we reported the highest numbers in cases that we’ve seen yet,” DHEC’s Dr. Brannon Traxler said.

Read it all.

Each day, DHEC releases more data about the #coronavirus. Since Friday, SC has reported over 1,000 positive cases. Check out this map for a break down. https://t.co/NbFpTLygOi

— The State Newspaper (@thestate) June 8, 2020

pic.twitter.com/NVleURuiOn

— Timothy Keller (@timkellernyc) June 7, 2020

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced 512 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and 7 additional deaths.

This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 13,916 and those who have died to 545.

Read it all.

A Second Straight Record Day of New Cases in South Carolina – South Carolina Announces Latest COVID-19 Update (June 6, 2020) – Charleston Daily – https://t.co/Zk4hEXOG00 #COVID19 #Coronavirus #CharlestonDaily #CHSnews #SouthCarolina #DHEC pic.twitter.com/GggqmSxJPy

— Charleston Daily (@ChuckTownDaily) June 6, 2020

The coronavirus has continued its speedy spread across South Carolina, with state officials announcing 447 new infections on Friday, setting a new record for the largest single-day increase in cases, state Department of Health and Environmental Control officials said in a statement.

In all, 13,453 people have tested positive for the virus across the state. Also announced Friday were an additional 13 deaths, bringing the death toll to 538.

The latest case and death statistics come near the end of a record week. Over the last week, state health officials have seen record high case numbers each day, including three days with more than 300 cases and two days with more than 400, topping the previous records set in April and May by dozens of cases.

Read it all.

DHEC today announced 447 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and 13 additional deaths.

This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 13,453 and those who have died to 538. https://t.co/07YzFAOsd1

— SCDHEC (@scdhec) June 5, 2020

The new cases are the latest indicator that South Carolina is seeing an increase in coronavirus activity. Over the past few weeks, DHEC officials have noted high weekly case numbers, higher seven-day average number of cases and increasing percents of tests that turn up positive.

Four of the last seven days have seen more than 300 cases, a milestone the state never reached before.

Thursday, officials said that 5.5% of tests conducted the previous day were positive.

And even those metrics don’t paint a complete picture of the coronavirus’ spread across South Carolina. DHEC officials estimate that as much as 86% of people who have contracted the virus have not been tested. As of Thursday, they estimated that a total of 92,900 people across the state had actually contracted the virus.

Read it all.

Over the past few weeks, DHEC officials have noted high weekly case numbers, higher seven-day average number of cases and increasing percents of tests that turn up positive. https://t.co/yszs2NAVdP

— The State Newspaper (@thestate) June 4, 2020

As restrictions are reduced by reopenings and South Carolinians return to their workplaces and participate in recreational activities that might involve crowds, DHEC continues to urge everyone to be vigilant in practicing social distancing and wearing masks to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

This reminder comes amid public health experts’ concerns over the recent rise in COVID-19 data trends in South Carolina.

“The more people you expose yourself to, the more you multiply your risk of being exposed to the virus,” said Dr. Linda Bell, state epidemiologist. “There are those who are finding ways to hold graduations and open businesses safely through careful planning and attention to crowd density and safety measures such as wearing masks. When we don’t do those things, we can put ourselves and others at risk, and case counts will rise.”

Read it all.

Today, DHEC announced 235 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and 17 additional deaths.

This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 12,651 and those who have died to 518.

Release: https://t.co/XcAev7V325 pic.twitter.com/DbHSquINtB

— SCDHEC (@scdhec) June 3, 2020

On a crisp May evening, Wendy Baur had earned a rest by the time dusk fell on a middle school gymnasium that was transformed into a supersized food pantry for the pandemic. Responding to a 630% increase in need since mid-March, she and her team of 55 volunteers had just handed out full grocery bags to about 375 families reeling from this gateway city’s economic collapse. It was time to go home.

But Ms. Baur, who’s directed the First Congregational Church of Revere food pantry in Massachusetts for 18 years, wasn’t relaxing as she leaned on a stack of canned soup cases. She was worrying. If even one volunteer tests positive for COVID-19, she said, the operation might grind to a halt as all contacts would have to quarantine. Just as concerning: the prospect of running out of food.

“Every week it’s a struggle to resupply, to get more food,” says Ms. Baur, who also runs a research lab at Tufts Medical Center. “All of the food pantries are competing for a time slot at the food bank warehouse. Some days I can’t even get a slot. … I get online at midnight when you can pick your slot, but when I get on, they’re all taken. They’re gone within one second.”

Read it all.

Feeding America during COVID-19: How food pantries meet record demand via @csmonitor https://t.co/wdGIcXQVZZ

— Earl Anthony Wayne (@EAnthonyWayne) June 3, 2020

We met some of her super donors. Each had different COVID-19 symptoms, but they all wanted the same thing: to help.

Dan Walsh is a retired currency broker.

Dan Walsh: Oh, it’s great. I think it’s great. Like, it gives me bragging rights to my friends. (LAUGH) I say, “I saved a life. You didn’t do anything today.” (LAUGH)

Rick Loshiavo is an investment manager.

Rick Loshiavo: I mean, there’s nothing I’ve done in my life to have these antibodies, But the fact that I have them maybe I was blessed with them to help somebody.

Christopher Jordan is a civil engineer.

Christopher Jordan: I just feel like we should do this like we should be giving back during these kinda times. like if you can help your neighbor, help your neighbor.

Walter Dimatia is a fabricator.

Walter Dimatia: It’d be a great feeling to know that I helped someone, absolutely. I hope it does.

Read it all.

My grandma was tested positive for COVID a week ago, and doctors are helping to fight it.

Grateful for all the essential workers who are serving to treat each patient. Here’s a look at the incredible work doctors are doing.https://t.co/SIh8OGYvxS

— Jada Chin (@jadachin) June 1, 2020

South Carolina’s coronavirus case count continued to grow Tuesday after Department of Health and Environmental Control officials announced that tests had resulted in an additional 285 positive infections across the state.

The latest daily case count, which marked the fourth day in a row that more than 200 infections had been identified, brings the total number of COVID-19 cases statewide to 12,415.

The death toll also increased to 501 after one person who contracted the virus died. That person was elderly and from Horry County.

Read it all.

South Carolina’s first coronavirus cases popped up in March in Kershaw and Charleston counties. Since then, 85% of people who tested positive for the virus recovered. https://t.co/MVGNwI7igw

— The State Newspaper (@thestate) June 2, 2020

South Carolina logged 297 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday and reported six new deaths.

Across the state, 12,148 people have now tested positive for the virus, while 500 people have died.

The six newly deceased patients were people above the age of 65 from Colleton, Fairfield, Horry and Lexington counties.

Read it all.

South Carolina logged 297 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday and reported six new deaths.https://t.co/MjKk1k4gdp

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) June 1, 2020

Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people out of their homes and onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases.

While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus.

More than 100,000 Americans have already died of Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. People of color have been particularly hard hit, with rates of hospitalizations and deaths among black Americans far exceeding those of whites.

The protests in dozens of cities have been spurred most recently by the death last week of George Floyd at the hands of the police in Minneapolis. But the unrest and outrage spilling out into the streets from one city to the next also reflects the dual, cumulative tensions arising from decades of killings by police and the sudden losses of family and friends from the virus.

Read it all.

“Tear gas & pepper spray, which police have used to disperse crowds, increase respiratory secretions from the eyes nose & mouth further enhancing transmission. Police efforts to move crowds can result in corralling people closer together into tight spaces”https://t.co/nKEyXdqHPM

— Amy Coopes (@coopesdetat) June 1, 2020

There is no typical day in the life of a vicar. Before the pandemic, an average day might consist of morning prayer, a midweek eucharist service, catching up with emails, visiting our community café, doing some admin, going on home visits and a meeting or two in the evening. Vicars are often described as being “paid not to work” – what that means is, although you might have a lot on, you’re available and around. You should never be too “busy” for people – I think that’s a damaging, corporate word.

Since the pandemic, the workload has been consistent, but different. At the moment, my time is split between three days in the parish and three days across two hospitals in Nottingham. I can’t physically be with my congregation right now, but all of the admin, preparation for worship, meetings and pastoral stuff goes on – it’s just moved online. I’ve had to become an expert in livestreaming and Zoom, which takes time, and mentally it takes up a lot more headspace. Celebrating the eucharist from behind the altar and looking out at loads of empty seats is still a very odd thing.

One of the things I’m finding most difficult is that I love people and I love being alongside them – to physically not be with them during this time is hard. I’m also careful to protect my own mental health: when you’re in the parish or the vicarage, you feel like you’re always “on”, but vicars are also human. In the past I’d disappear into town if I needed a break, settle into a coffeeshop and write my sermon; just being in a different place was mentally uplifting. Now, that’s not possible.

But it’s strange; even though we’re far apart, we’ve never felt so united as a congregation.

Read it all.

I’m a hospital chaplain working during the coronavirus crisis – it’s the funerals that are the hardest https://t.co/WAM2OyFNCb

— The Independent (@Independent) May 28, 2020

Pope Francis is to take part in an online service alongside senior UK church leaders, including the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, for the first time.

He is set to call on people to turn away from the “selfish pursuit of success without caring for those left behind” and to be united in facing the “pandemics of the virus and of hunger, war, contempt for life and indifference to others”.

His special message is to mark Pentecost Sunday, the day Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church.

The virtual service is the finale of this year’s global prayer movement, called Thy Kingdom Come, which is usually filled with mass gatherings and outdoor celebrations involving 65 different denominations and traditions.

It has had to be adapted due to the pandemic so people can take part in their homes.

Read it all.

Pope to take part in online service with UK church leaders for first timehttps://t.co/D4XCASERMB

— Premier Christian (@PremierRadio) May 29, 2020

In a Shropshire town, a young church member’s idea to help people with shopping has seen more than 1,000 answered calls for practical support for the vulnerable and isolated.

Shifnal Help launched the week before lockdown as St Andrew’s Church, brought together a community partnership to launch an emergency phone line for local people who were self-isolating. Two months later, today it now operates a helpline six days a week offering support, medication collection and delivery, shopping and other key tasks – with the local pub becoming a food donations hub.

Shifnal Vicar, The Revd Preb Chris Thorpe reveals: “It all started with one young mum from church called Elizabeth, who posted an offer to help people with shopping!”

Read it all.

“When people have been unable to pay for food, we have supplied food parcels and purchased particular things needed.”
– Rev Preb Chris Thorpe

Find out how 1,000 calls for help have been answered by the church in a Shropshire town: https://t.co/tocAaHgfKV pic.twitter.com/BYuuNf7x6x

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) May 28, 2020

The United States, already wrestling with an economic collapse not seen in a generation, is facing a wave of evictions as government relief payments and legal protections run out for millions of out-of-work Americans who have little financial cushion and few choices when looking for new housing.

The hardest hit are tenants who had low incomes and little savings even before the pandemic, and whose housing costs ate up more of their paychecks. They were also more likely to work in industries where job losses have been particularly severe.

Temporary government assistance has helped, as have government orders that put evictions on hold in many cities. But evictions will soon be allowed in about half of the states, according to Emily A. Benfer, a housing expert and associate professor at Columbia Law School who is tracking eviction policies.

“I think we will enter into a severe renter crisis and very quickly,” Professor Benfer said. Without a new round of government intervention, she added, “we will have an avalanche of evictions across the country.”

Read it all.

By the great @smervosh ‘Avalanche of Evictions’ Could Be Bearing Down on America’s Renters https://t.co/E49EsXK1N7

— Sabrina Tavernise (@stavernise) May 28, 2020

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced 156 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and 4 additional deaths.

This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 10,788 and those who have died to 470.

The deaths occurred in 4 elderly individuals from Chesterfield (1), Fairfield (1), Greenville (1), and York (1) counties.

Read it all.

DHEC today announced 156 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and 4 additional deaths.

This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 10,788 and those who have died to 470. https://t.co/4HppaztQNO

— SCDHEC (@scdhec) May 28, 2020

Read it all.

We must prioritise the proper funding of social care & provide a real Living Wage for care workers. Read my article in today’s @iNews https://t.co/bSQKhJ7uHn

— John Sentamu (@JohnSentamu) May 28, 2020