"Federal judge blocks NY governor’s COVID restrictions on houses of worship"

"A federal district court judge issued an order yesterday blocking New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s capacity limits on Orthodox Jewish synagogues permanently. Previously, the governor — in a peculiar move — had asked the judge to rule against him and end the restrictions. The judge’s order applies to all of the houses of worship in red and orange 'zones' in New York, and is one of the first in the country to block percentage-of-occupancy limits on worship attendance.

The decision comes after the Supreme Court found his 10- and 25-person caps on synagogues were discriminatory, other lower courts also ruled against him, and just days ago, a New York Times exposé revealed that nine top New York State health officials resigned after Cuomo told doctors to make up scientific justifications for his COVID lockdown orders.

Cuomo’s retreat — which covered not only the 10- and 25-person caps but also the 25 percent and 33 percent occupancy limits — also came as he faced the prospect of Dr. Howard Zucker, New York’s commissioner of health, having to testify on the witness stand...

In November, the Supreme Court ruled against his restrictions, saying that 'even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten. The restrictions at issue here, by effectively barring many from attending religious services, strike at the very heart of the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty.'"