The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has amended its public health order regarding the kinds of services provided by places of worship, categorizing some as “essential services.”

The order, issued Monday and which took effect at 5 p.m., said that ceremonies, such as funerals, weddings and baptisms would be classified as essential. Under the change, houses of worship “must do their best to follow public health recommendations but may exceed recommended capacity caps if they cannot conduct their essential activity within those restrictions.”

The order still requires the wearing of masks indoors, six-feet of social distancing between members of different households, and sanitation practices already required by previous orders. 

A statement from CDPHE said that outdoor activities are still strongly preferred.

Colorado’s public health orders as they apply to houses of worship are being challenged in federal court by two churches: Denver Bible Church in Wheat Ridge and Community Baptist Church in Brighton. The two churches won the right to be exempted from masks and capacity restrictions from a federal judge in October, but that decision is under appeal to the US Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

As of Dec. 2, there are 13 active outbreaks at Christian churches in Colorado according to outbreak data from the CDPHE. The largest outbreaks have been at the Andrew Wommack Ministries in Woodland Park, where 65 attendees and staff tested positive for the virus, tied to an event held in late July. It’s the second outbreak at the ministries; an event in late June and early July resulted in 44 cases and one death, also according to CDPHE data. A ministry attorney said state officials cannot prove that the man who died contracted COVID at the ministry’s event.