US SUPREME COURT BACKS CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH GROUPS WHO CHALLENGED COVID RESTRICTIONS

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday dismissed as “irrelevant” a U.S. Supreme Court decision blocking coronavirus restrictions imposed on religious gatherings, saying it related to specific areas that were no longer considered at high risk. The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, voted 5-4 late on Wednesday in favour of requests by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and two Orthodox Jewish congregations for an injunction to block the restrictions from being enforced. This order marked one of the first consequential actions on the court involving President Donald Trump’s new appointee, conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who cast a deciding vote in favour of the religious groups.