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Covid-19 Pandemic and Federalism

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Covid-19 Pandemic and Federalism

Covid-19 pandemic created a public health crisis in the country, prompting an unprecedented

response from all levels of government. Central, state, and local governments adopted drastic

measures aimed at flattening the curve and preventing the disease from overwhelming the

American health system. The increasing number of cases led to an uncoordinated response to the

crisis, underscoring both the promise and limits of the Tenth Amendment (Knauer, 2020). One of

the measures adopted by states that led to the interpretation of the constitution was the closure of

churches and businesses. This paper examines whether states had the authority to order the

closure of churches and businesses.

Churches and businesses bring several households together, making them a perfect setting for the

spread of Covid-19 in the country. As a result, many states made an order to close them to flatten

the infection rates in the country. However, this led to great opposition from those that believe

that these states violated the First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion and the

constitution. Some churches and activists filed legal suits for courts to decide whether states had

the powers to order for the closure of churches and businesses. They also filed them to seek

interpretation of whether their First Amendment rights were violated.

Under the precedents of the United States Supreme Court, both states and local governments

have the authority to control religious actions through applicable general laws that do not

explicitly target religious activities. Schetelich (20200 argues that state governments have broad

powers in times of emergency. On the other hand, the Federal government has limited powers

that the US constitution has provided. Hence state government can use their broad powers to act

except where the constitution limits its powers. In this case, the laws to close churches and

businesses were laws of general applicability. The orders concerned a compelling government
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interest of protecting the civilians, and they were also tailored to meet that interest making it

constitutional.
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References

Jacobs, P., Kaufman, A., Pugh, H., Rauenzahn, B., Wang, J., & Chung, J. (2020). Can States

Close Churches Amid COVID-19? | The Regulatory Review. The Regulatory Review.

Retrieved from https://www.theregreview.org/2020/05/30/states-close-churches-covid-

19/.

Knauer, N. J. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic and federalism: Who decides?. NYUJ Legis. &

Pub. Pol'y, 23, 1.

Schetelich, T. (2020). Freedom of Religion and COVID-19: Can State Government Close

Churches? Retrieved from https://www.fsb-law.com/freedom-of-religion-and-covid-19-

can-state-government-close-churches/.