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Published 13:57 IST, March 16th 2020

'We're not pansies': US Church won't let Coronavirus shut it down, encourages hand-shaking

A revivalist church in Tampa, Florida was open on March 16 irrespective of its risk being attached to the coronavirus outbreak, because they are “not pansies”.

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
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Amid the unprecedented outbreak of deadly coronavirus, governments around the globe have advised restricting non-essential gatherings. However, a revivalist church in Tampa, Florida was open on March 16 irrespective of its risk being attached to the pandemic, because they are “not pansies”. The session was headed by pastor Rodney Howard-Browne who apparently is also a denier of climate change and has reportedly also encouraged people to shake hands. As of March 16, the United States has reported over 3,700 confirmed cases and at least 69 deaths while the global death toll has crossed 6,500-mark. 

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Even US President Donald Trump shared a video on March 16 raising awareness on how to protect yourself from contracting COVID-19 including the limiting of social gatherings. The confirmed cases in the US have reached 3,782 with at least 69 deaths and Trump urged citizens to “do your part”. From meeting and travel precautions to personal hygiene, the US President wants citizens to contribute to stopping the spread of the fatal virus and the video is titled, “we're in this together”.

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Coronavirus website

Meanwhile, in a bid to make people more informed, Google has now announced that the company is “partnering” with the US government to create a national website with the information about coronavirus symptoms and testing information. In a series of tweets by Google communications, it, however, did not mention the time frame of when such a website would be functional. 

Trump had said in a White House briefing that Alphabet Inc with the help of the engineers at Google are creating a website which will enable people to check whether they have symptoms of the deadly COVID-19 which has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation. However, the company had earlier declined to say if it would be publishing a national-scale website for COVID-19 testing anytime soon.  

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Updated 13:57 IST, March 16th 2020

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