Nice, so why the condescending remarks if you're just curious. That would be like me listening to athiests talk and then bashing what they believe. It's not curiosity, you're just looking for ammunition.
How is praying for people harmful or silly? It's not like that's the only thing they're doing. If you're keeping up, most churches and synagogues are closed and telling people to pray at home. Maybe you should point that out.
Oh i'm totally with you on that. Parents who say "we're just going to pray and ask God to heal our child" instead of taking a sick child to the doctor are committing the worst kind of neglect. They're seriously misguided and misunderstanding the Bible.
Most Catholic churches are closed some until the end of the month. The pastor you spoke of is free to do as he wishes people aren't being forced to attend. If it's foolish for him not to close but restaurants and stores can stay open then people are not really all that concerned about health but looking at another opportunity to act bigoted toward Christians.
Caption this Meme