The federal agency also warned that security plans should be reviewed.
"Although many people undoubtedly continue to practice their faith, including through remote services and prayer, most are inevitably eager to return to normalcy and join their fellow congregants in practicing their faiths," the assistant director for infrastructure security at DHS, Brian Harrell, said in a letter to leaders of faith-based communities. "The American people are resilient, and we will achieve this goal soon."
In the letter, Harrell not only suggested that the practice of "social distancing" might have to continue even when houses of worship open up again, but he warned that terrorists, white supremacists and other extremists are exploiting the unfolding pandemic "to encourage violence or use the ongoing situation as an excuse to spread hatred."
