Virtual church services, skipping shared lunches and using plastic sheets instead of prayer rugs are just some of the ways local clergy are trying to slow the spread of coronavirus.

With five confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Long Beach—and the most recent case being spread in the community—officials say social distancing is even more crucial to slowing down the virus. The city has banned gatherings of more than 250 people, including spiritual and faith-based gatherings.

“People feel like churches are where people run to in times of crisis for comfort,” said the Rev. Gregory Sanders of The ROCK Christian Fellowship.

On Friday, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles issued a statement saying Catholics, “in this grave and extraordinary moment,” were not obligated to attend Mass for the month of March. Archbishop José Gomez encouraged parishioners to watch livestreams of Masses and perform an act of spiritual communion.

At the Alpert Jewish Community Center, where Shul By The Shore gathers for Shabbat service, congregants had dispersed by 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. The congregation would usually enjoy Kiddush, or a Sabbath meal, together until about 1 p.m. Two large signs near the entrance outlined CDC recommendations for cleanliness and sanitation.

“It’s the first time in years, as far as I can remember, that we haven’t had lunch,” Charles Lefkowitz, 79, said. He said the service wasn’t too different—mostly people touching elbows instead of shaking hands and about half as many people in the audience.

As for the coronavirus, he said he’s more concerned about being quarantined and people panicking.

“We socialize here, not today though, and it’s probably not going away in one week,” he said. “I’m going to have to go home and make myself lunch now.”

At Long Beach Buddhist Church, where services consist largely of guided meditations, the Rev. Gyokei Yokoyama said the church has shut down almost completely because much of the congregation are elderly. Elderly people are most at risk of death and complications from coronavirus.

“Some of us followed the news in Japan, so we knew this was going to develop pretty quickly,” Yokoyama said. He and the board of his church followed the news over the last few days and made the decision to cancel services over email because they knew it couldn’t wait until Sunday.

Instead, he will be leading meditations through Zoom, a video call service.

“We wanted to always stay on the safe side,” Yokoyama said.

Imam Tarek Mohamed at the Long Beach Islamic Center said about a third less people showed up to Friday prayers to slow the spread of the virus. He met with other religious leaders days ago about safety measures the mosque could take to help people stay healthy.

They’re cleaning the mosque daily and advising older people to stay home. Mohamed said they’ve canceled weekend Arabic classes and started using a yellow plastic sheet to cover the floors where people kneel and touch their foreheads to the ground. They change the sheet out each time, he said.

“Every church around is trying to do good to the community to not spread the virus,” Mohamed said.

City and school district officials on Friday announced the closure of all schools in the district and the day before announced that outside groups would not be allowed to use school grounds. This left dozens of churches without a place to meet, including the influential Antioch Church, which meets at Poly High School.

The ROCK Christian Fellowship, which usually meets in the Bixby Elementary School auditorium, has found a temporary home at the Marriott Hotel. Pastor Gregory Sanders said it was a decision borne out of what his church community wanted and CDC guidelines.

“Historically churches have been the support, especially for black communities—we had no place but the church,” Sanders said. “In these days, (we’re told) you can’t run to the church.”

He and about 70 pastors and church leaders met on Thursday to talk about how they would handle the situation, he said. For his congregation of under 200 people, they decided they would take careful measures when meeting, including changing how people take communion.

“We’re not doing this without deeply considering the CDC guidelines,” Sanders said. “We’re not being reckless and just hugging all over.”

Some churches are pivoting to live-stream only services. Hector Mora, pastor of Vision Church that usually meets at Emerson Parkside Academy, said this is a continuation of a service they had already been offering, except with better equipment. His church of about 60 people has a large children’s ministry, so their leaders are working to send out crafts that the families can do together and share online.

“As a pastor, I’m not shaken by it, because we need to be the church,” Mora said. “The church is not a ‘place where,’ but a ‘people who.’ We know that gathering is just a preparation for what we want to do … I gotta be a light to this world at Costco, at Smart & Final. It’s not like I’m just going to be a Christian at a church now, I have to be a Christian everywhere else.”

The whole situation has been a moment that has brought different churches together, he said, with other congregations offering him their space to use.

St. Luke’s Lutheran Church has continued with its services and has offered space for evening services for another church displaced from a school, Calvary Chapel Long Beach.

The Rev. Garry Mohr said the decision from his board to allow it was almost immediate. His congregation is smaller, he said, and doesn’t hit the 250 benchmark.

His staff is taking extra precautions with cleanliness and sanitization and he is encouraging his congregants to stay home if they are sick or elderly or immune-compromised, but has not stopped services.

He recalled a hymn, written by the Rev. Martin Rinkart in the midst of the Black Plague who is widely known for continuing his ministry despite the death surrounding him: “Now Thank We All Our God.”

“I’m trying to channel his spiritual center now,” Mohr said.

Steven Smith contributed to this article.