"Today, I am identifying houses of worship - churches, synagogues and mosques - as essential places that provide essential services. … I call upon governors to allow our churches and places of worship to open right now," Trump said.
Trump said he wants governors to allow places of worship to open this weekend and emphasized that he will override any governor's decision to keep them closed.
The United States, as of midday Friday, has more than 1.5 million novel coronavirus cases and more than 95,000 deaths related to the COVID-19 disease, according to Johns Hopkins University.