LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky state troopers will now be recording the license plate numbers of anyone who takes part in an in-person church service — or any mass gathering — and referring those motorists to local health departments, which will order 14-day quarantines.

That order came from Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday evening, as he ramped up efforts to keep Kentuckians from further spreading COVID-19.

And in Louisville, Mayor Greg Fischer shrugged off a letter from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who said Fischer was infringing on religious freedoms by barring churchgoers from holding drive-in services in church parking lots.

“Understand that this is the only way that we can ensure that your decision doesn’t kill somebody else,” Beshear said.

The crackdown comes as about six churches across the commonwealth were still planning to hold in-person services this Easter weekend, Beshear confirmed on Friday. But across the state, the vast majority of churches were following the rules, he said.

This new policy won’t apply to those attending drive-in services, though Beshear stressed that people need to stay inside their cars, parked 6 feet apart, and that items can't be passed in and out of cars.

Beshear is leaving it up to local leaders, such as Fischer, to apply the order to drive-in services, if they see fit.

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In the letter to Fischer, McConnell said he does not support the irresponsible gatherings of churches meeting in open defiance of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, but that "religious people should not be singled out for disfavored treatment."

The drive-in services comply with CDC guidelines for mitigating the transmission of COVID-19, McConnell said, and "the government has not imposed similar wholesale bans on gatherings of people in vehicles for commercial purposes — including large, heavily trafficked retail operations, grocery stores, and many others."

"As we all unite to fight COVID-19, Kentuckians, like all Americans, are relying on their faith communities for comfort and guidance, particularly during the holy seasons of Easter and Passover," McConnell wrote in the Thursday letter to Fischer.

The letter echoes one from lawyers at the First Liberty Institute, who represent On Fire Christian Church at 5627 New Cut Road, the church at the center of the debate in Louisville, where Pastor Chuck Salvo has continued to host parking lot services.

Late Friday, the church filed a petition in federal court, citing the Kentucky Religious Freedom Act and asking for a restraining order to block Fischer and the city from preventing the church from hosting drive-in services.

The church and its members will suffer “irreparable injury” by not being able to celebrate one of the holiest days in the Christian faith, according to the petition filed in the state's Western District.

Attorneys for the church noted that Fischer is still allowing restaurants to conduct pickup orders and some retail stores are open to in-person traffic with “… citizens wandering the parking lots and aisles …”

Q&A:Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer talks Easter services, nursing homes, PPE

The church agrees to adhere to social distancing guidelines from the CDC, according to the court filing.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Justin Walker, a McConnell ally.

Online court records on Friday night did not indicate when the emergency motion for a restraining order will be heard.

In response to McConnell's letter, Fischer said Friday he did not see his actions as conflicting with religious rights.

"What I am doing is asking people to use their judgment to help us defeat the virus," he said in his Friday afternoon briefing. "We’re a country where separation of church and state is very important, and I am an certainly an advocate of that, but my job is to protect as many lives as I can."

Fischer has said Louisville authorities will respond to any church gatherings and provide "information about the negative effects of public gatherings during the pandemic."

That includes police officers heading to church parking lots and handing out leaflets with public health information. Fischer said he was not interested in taking it further, saying he didn't want a "showdown."

Louisville Metro Police officers will also be recording license plates of cars at drive-in services and sharing that information with the health department so it can provide the attendees with further information about COVID-19, Fischer said.

"The science is clear," the mayor said. "This virus doesn’t care about faith, family, traditions or love. It just wants to spread to as many people as possible."

Attorney General Daniel Cameron also weighed in, saying, "as long as Kentuckians are permitted to drive through liquor stores, restaurants, and other businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the law requires that they must also be allowed to participate in drive-in church services, consistent with existing policies to stop the spread of COVID-19."

Related:Oldham County health director urges churches not to hold drive-in services

Fischer said the difference between a liquor store drive-thru and a drive-in church service is the amount of cars congregated together. He has not issued a formal order banning religious gatherings.

Though several states have exempted religious services from restrictions on gatherings aimed at slowing the virus's spread, Kentucky’s order makes no distinction among “faith-based” events, ballgames or concerts. All are prohibited.

Some faith leaders have said this prohibition tramples rights protected by the First Amendment and Kentucky’s constitution. At issue is whether the freedom to practice one's religion conflicts with the greater good in a medical emergency.

"The freedom to attend worship services is one of our most important rights, as guaranteed by the United States Constitution," said Samuel Crankshaw from the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky.

The Constitution does grant government officials the ability to use emergency powers, the ACLU said. And in this instance, government officials may temporarily limit these types of gatherings due to the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"However, any restrictions must be grounded in the scientific and fact-based recommendations of public health experts," Crankshaw said in email to The Courier Journal. "In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, these experts agree that large gatherings pose an immediate and grave risk to public health. These recommendations, however, should undergo constant and intense scrutiny to ensure they remain relevant and that there are no other, less restrictive, measures available."

Earlier:Pastor vows to hold Easter services even after getting Beshear stop order

The Oldham County Health Department urged churches to drop their plans to host Easter services at a La Grange drive-in theater this weekend.

Stephen Sauerbeck, the owner of Sauerbeck Family Drive-In, confirmed Friday that about half of the churches had canceled their plans to take part in the drive-in services. The others, he said, will probably cancel, in part because of inclement weather expected on Sunday.

"As this decision has become very public and landed with the local health department, I am encouraging Oldham County families, neighbors and friends to follow Gov. Beshear’s appeal yesterday to Kentuckians to worship from home during this very special time," said Teresa Gamsky, Oldham's director of public health.

Related:How Louisville churches are getting creative to celebrate Easter

Reporter Matthew Glowicki contributed to this report. Reach reporter Savannah Eadens at seadens@courierjournal.com, 502-381-9498 or on Twitter at @savannaheadens.