Ventura County residents protest in favor of reopening COVID-19 closures

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. - A group of people met up at the Ventura County Government Center on Friday to protest the decision to shut down businesses and church services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The protestors got in their cars and drove around the government center for one hour while waving signs and American flags.

Former Thousand Oaks City Councilman Rob McCoy resigned from his position on the City Council earlier in April because of the debate on temporarily halting church services to enforce physical distancing due to COVID-19.

"We can't feed into peoples' fears. We have to give them very clear, empirical data so they can make those decisions wisely," said McCoy who is a pastor at Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park. "This has been blown out of proportion to instill fear in our populace, and I understand why folks are scared, because they've been given data that is theoretical."

However, under the statewide stay at home order, County leaders may not be able to reopen much until Governor Gavin Newsom returns control to the counties.