Virginia’s Democratic Governor Ralph Northam announced some strict new COVID-19 regulations on Thursday, sending a brutal message to Christians specifically by telling them to stay out of churches over Christmas.

“This year, we need to think about what is truly the most important thing. Is it the worship or the building?” Northam said during a press conference. “For me, God is wherever you are. You don’t have to sit in the church pew for God to hear your prayers.”

The Democrat went on to call on faith leaders to “lead the way” and “set an example” for their communities.

“Worship with a mask on is still worship, worship outside or worship online is still worship,” Northam added.

However, the leftwing governor made sure to admit that he doesn’t actually have the power to legally limit in-person worship ceremonies, citing a recent Supreme Court decision against the state of New York that makes it so that he is unable to do that. Northam then called out churches instead of all places of worship, claiming that there have been reports of Christians not social distancing or wearing masks inside them.

“I have heard reports. They don’t use distancing inside the church. They are not wearing masks. Quite frankly we know that a lot of the spread is coming from this,” he said.

Not stopping there, Northam also put a curfew in place, demanding that people be inside from 12:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.

“I will also say something that my parents taught me when I was younger, and that is nothing good happens after midnight,” he continued.

In addition, bars and restaurants will need to stop selling alcohol at 10:00 p.m. in accordance with Northam’s new rules, and social gatherings must be limited to ten people, down from 25 before.

Finally, Northam has ordered the people of Virginia to wear masks indoors, even if they are remaining socially distant.

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It’s despicable that Northam specifically felt the need to call out Christians and churches when announcing his new coronavirus rules. Had he said this about Muslims and mosques, all hell would have broken loose, and Northam would have been widely slammed as a bigot. Since he targeted Christians in this way, however, there is no outrage whatsoever from the media.