News & Op-Ed Commentary from The People's Republic of Moscow (Idaho)
Experts Say ‘Flawed’ Study Used To Justify Mask Mandate, $3 Million In Fines Levied At Church
10/07/2022
The government should pay the church $3m for violating their constitutional rights.
Santa Clara County’s $3 million lawsuit against a church in California’s Silicon Valley over COVID-19 mandate violations, as well as its prior mask mandate, was based on a study that’s deeply flawed, critics say.
A protestor holds a sign against mask mandates in Costa Mesa, Calif., on June 10, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
Pastor Mike McClure of Calvary Chapel San Jose defied county mandates from May through October 2020 when the church held indoor services, made masks optional, ignored social distancing rules, and refused to place limits on how many of its 600 congregants could attend services.
The county filed a civil enforcement lawsuit against the church in November 2020 to collect fines and penalties totaling
$2.87 million —and in its latest move, the county
asked the California Supreme Court on Sept. 26 to review an appeals court decision from August
that allowed the church to avoid paying more than $200,000 in court fines.
Meanwhile, the county’s indoor mask mandate was
changed to a recommendation in March. The church also filed a civil rights
lawsuit against county and state officials over the fines and COVID-related restrictions in April.
In a
deposition in August, Dr. Sara Cody, the county’s public health officer, was asked about studies she relied on regarding COVID-19 policies.
“
I can remember a particular study around masking evidence that was a large study in Bangladesh that had cases—it was a large retrospective cohort study that demonstrated the efficacy of community-wide masking. I can’t remember exactly where it was published. It was not published by the CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], ” she said.
