The Chinese government has not ceased its persecution against churches. In fact, China’s anti-cross campaign appears to have gotten worse during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At least 70 crosses were removed from churches since last spring and even more have been taken down in recent weeks, The Bitter Winter Magazine reports.

A representative of the Zhuangwu town government hired workers to remove a ross from the Three-Self Church in the village of Hexi in February of this year.

That same representative said he thought the cross would make his superiors uncomfortable and result in his removal from his position as a result of it.

The church leaders have followed the four requirements of the government’s “sinicization” campaign since these requirements were instituted in 2018.

These rules include “ritually raise the national flag, often while singing the national anthem; teach beliefs about and promote the Chinese Constitution, laws, and regulations;  preach and promote the “Core Socialist Values”; and promote “China’s excellent traditional culture,” CBN News reports.

Even after complying with the government’s regulations, the cross was still removed from the building.

This is not the only church impacted. A church in Guoyang County, Anhui Province and a church in Yixing city, Jiangsu both saw their crosses removed in March, to name a few.

A Christian with the surname Chen reported that the church in Guoyang County usually has 40 church goers attending the service, but due to the lockdown of COVID-19, local authorities utilized this time to remove from the cross, Persecution.org reports.

The Chinese government has stopped all religious gatherings as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.

“The government does not provide enough help during the epidemic but instead demolishes crosses,” a Chinese Christian  told Bitter Winter Magazine.

In December of last year, a number of crosses were removed because they were “too-eye-catching,” “they would attract people into churches,” and they were “higher than the national flag.”

Local authorities also threatened to shut these churches down if they weren’t compliant.

COVID-19, which quickly spread across China has limited Christians in China from gathering together.

While most of the churches, underground or state-vetted are able to meet online for now, it is uncertain whether or not these online gatherings will be cracked down once China returns its life to normal, Persecution.org, reports.