President Donald Trump announced Friday that his administration deemed houses of worship “essential” and called on governors to allow churches to reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Today, I am identifying houses of worship, churches, synagogues, mosques as essential services,” the president said during a white House briefing.

Rev. Joe May, who has been pastor at Anderson United Methodist Church in Jackson for 18 years, also said he does not think it’s safe to reopen at this present time.

While the president and governor are encouraging churches to reopen, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported 247 new cases and over 13,000 total cases of the coronavirus and 625 deaths.

Most of the pastors are concerned with the high number of cases in the African-American community, and will remain closed until the numbers decrease in spite of the governor’s and president’s request to open churches and houses of worship.