U.S. Senator Rand Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie are slamming Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's Friday announcement that those who attend in-person church services over Easter weekend will face mandatory quarantine.

"Taking license plates at church?" Paul tweeted late Friday, along with a far-right website's article on Beshear's new action. "Quarantining someone for being Christian on Easter Sunday? Someone needs to take a step back here."

Paul, who was the first member of the Senate to confirm having COVID-19, announced earlier this week that he has recovered and is volunteering at a Bowling Green hospital.

Beshear said during his 5 p.m. news conference that law enforcement will record the license plate numbers of those attending mass gatherings of any kind, including religious services.

Earlier:Planning on going to a church service? 'That's how people die,' Gov. Andy Beshear says

That information will be used to identify attendees, whom local health officials will contact and require to self-quarantine for 14 days.

"This is the only way we can ensure that your decision doesn’t kill someone else," Beshear said.

Nine minutes after Paul's tweet, Massie shared the same article, asking, "What the actual hell?"

Soon after, Massie tweeted: "The same week Jews celebrate freedom from bondage and Christians celebrate freedom from death, Governor Beshear is going to be in your church parking lot scanning your license plate."

There was no shortage of reaction to Massie's and Paul's tweets.

"Houston, we have a problem. @GovAndyBeshear drunk on power," one commenter replied to Massie's tweet.

"No, he's trying to keep people alive," another user responded.

The fodder beneath Paul's tweet include plenty of people either agreeing with or criticizing Kentucky's junior senator.

"If we can social distance at the store, we can social distance at church," a commenter wrote in reply to Paul's tweet.

"If libertarians were in charge during this pandemic ... we'd all be dead. End of story," another response said.

In announcing the new measure, Beshear noted he knows of only six churches in Kentucky that are planning on holding in-person services.

He pointed to a Hopkins County church revival that led to at least 30 infections and three deaths.

Beshear first asked places of worship to cease in-person services on March 11, five days after Kentucky's first confirmed COVID-19 case was announced.

Also:Rand Paul says he has now tested negative for the coronavirus

"I don’t believe whether you go to church during this period of time is a test of faith," he said at the time. "I believe God gives us wisdom to protect each other, and we should do that."

Over the past month, Beshear has repeatedly pleaded with congregations to halt in-person gatherings. His action Friday, two days ahead of Easter, is the most aggressive to date.

Beshear noted that the new action doesn't apply to those attending drive-in services, though he 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.

Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at mglowicki@courierjournal.com, 502-582-4989 or on Twitter @mattglo. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today at courier-journal.com/mattg.