U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York on Friday upheld the validity of an executive order from Gov. Andrew Cuomo restricting attendance at religious gatherings in some parts of the New York City metropolitan area, denying the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have allowed more than 10 people to attend mass at churches in “red zones” where COVID-19 rates have recently risen.

Garaufis found that, based on the evidence he reviewed during a four-hour hearing Thursday, the policy had its basis in science. He also found that the order, which set forth restrictions on essential and nonessential businesses in the color-coded zones surrounding COVID-19 cluster areas, did not discriminate against religious gatherings, even though Cuomo has publicly expressed his concern about COVID-19 cases clustered in Orthodox Jewish communities.