Churches around Oklahoma have canceled or scaled back services for Sunday, March 15. However, Oklahoma's Attorney General Mike Hunter issued a statement Saturday, March 14 saying that even though churches are canceling, there is nothing that currently allows the state or local government to force such closures.
"Consistent with state and federal legal safeguards, church services across the state can go on as normal unless they are postponed or rescheduled by the church itself," Hunter said. "If the situation were to ever become so dire that church services needed to be cancelled by the government, all similarly sized and situated gatherings would also need to be cancelled as well."
Hunter went on to say that if people do attend Sunday church services, they should exercise good judgment, common sense and hygiene practices as directed by the Centers for Disease Control and the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
