https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2Fworld%2Flive-news%2Fcoronavirus-pandemic-04-01-20-intl%2Fh_b2d27eeaa15e3e082511fb168c63575d%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2cZWw9ZrnjD-x2iBLG-UVt8H0dFCWsfh5A2hmIIZeEAhy7d5NIRsnvp-E&h=AT35EcVsp092eTFUrbbVieQ5369mC_6qji1rAoNNlAxqhbgotarwYaz8c0lT9q-lJV4X-UWZHbFBXOxSO91z283EsxRyCZhWN5g5Qrh_35hMfhbYb9f6hK12rSo4cPo0FCNIHOIPrGOHTzQhBTPt1UYYCrwQEaWTrgFlorida religious services exempt from stay-at-home executive order
From CNN's Stephanie Gallman
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference in Miami Gardens, Florida, on March 30. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said religious services conducted in churches, synagogues and houses of worship are “essential business” and therefore exempt from this stay-at-home executive order announced this afternoon.
The stay-at-home order issued by DeSantis goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday.
According to 2019 Census data, the population of the state has over 21 million people.
Florida has 6,946 confirmed coronavirus cases and 86 deaths, according to CNN's tally.
Some context: Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne said he wouldn't close the doors of his Tampa, Florida, megachurch until the End Times begin. The police weren't willing to wait that long.
On Monday, Florida sheriff's deputies arrested the evangelical pastor, who has continued to host large church services despite public orders urging residents to stay home to help contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said Howard-Browne has been charged with two counts: unlawful assembly and a violation of health emergency rules. Both are second-degree misdemeanors, Chronister said at a press conference Monday.
5:27 p.m. ET, April 1, 2020
Gun retailers deemed "essential service" by federal government
From CNN's Kelly Mena
People wait in line at Martin B. Retting gun shop in Culver City, California, on March 24. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
As states around the country issue "stay-at-home" orders amid the coronavirus pandemic, firearm and ammunition retailers have been designated an "essential service," according to updated guidance from the federal government.
Christopher Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, identified "firearm and ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges" as critical infrastructure in the updated "Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce" advisory, which was issued over the weekend.
The list is intended to be advisory and not to be considered "the exclusive list of critical infrastructure sectors, workers, and functions that should continue during the Covid-19 response across all jurisdictions."
"Individual jurisdictions should add or subtract essential workforce categories based on their own requirements and discretion," the advisory states.
Some context: The Covid-19 health crisis has prompted at least 30 states and the District of Columbia to issue stay-at-home orders that force the closure of "non-essential services."
Firearm retailers haven't been specifically mentioned in some states' lists of essential businesses, so they're assumed to be non-essential.
