Other Americans turned to online church services to mark the holiest day in the Christian calendar. In Louisiana, the evangelical Life Tabernacle megachurch near Baton Rouge defied local government orders to shut down, holding its Easter Sunday service as planned, said Reverend Tony Spell. "Our rights come from our creator, not from a governing body," Spell told Reuters, adding people travelled from across the region to attend. In some states, attempts by authorities to clamp down on Easter services have sparked legal battles over the rights of government to prevent Americans from attending church, even under pandemic conditions. Roughly 2,000 deaths a day were reported for the last four days in a row, the largest number in and around New York City.

Source: bd News24 April 13, 2020 04:30 UTC