Charleston, West Virginia, US
AP
Coronavirus outbreaks were linked to three churches in West Virginia on Wednesday as officials urged parishioners to follow safety guidelines and warned about the virus spreading into surrounding communities.
Local health authorities said Greenbrier County’s Graystone Baptist Church has at least 33 cases and Ohio County’s First Baptist Church has four positives, though many tests are still pending in both counties. Bloomingrose Church of Christ in Boone County has four active cases.
Republican Governor Jim Justice and his health officials have instructed churches to follow social distancing guidelines and asked worshippers to wear masks, saying that the virus could easily pass from congregants into the general population.
“Church, our most holy and sacred ground, absolutely could be the number one spot where the biggest possibility of an outbreak could happen,” Justice said.
Justice, who has pushed forward with an aggressive plan to reopen the state’s economy, excluded religious entities from virus closures, deeming the facilities essential. Still, he encouraged them to hold virtual services and issued a set of safety guidelines for in-person events.
The outbreaks come after similar spikes associated with churches and other large gatherings. Several cases have emerged after a group of West Virginians recently traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Health officials have acknowledged that there will be flare-ups as lockdown measures are eased and people resume normal activities.
At least 88 people in West Virginia have died from the virus and around 2,400 have tested positive, according to state health data.
Meanwhile, authorities in Oregon reported on Tuesday that a church in the state’s rural north-east is now the epicenter of its largest coronavirus outbreak, as 236 people tested positive for the disease.
The outbreak also led to Oregon’s second consecutive record-setting daily case count.
“I think generally we are seeing increasing numbers, which is what we expected with reopening,” said Thomas Jeanne, the deputy state health officer and deputy state epidemiologist.
In response to the increasing case counts Governor Kate Brown last week said she was putting all county applications for further reopening from her COVID-19 restrictions on hold for seven days.
The Oregon Health Authority reported 278 new statewide cases Tuesday – a 51 per cent increase from Monday’s case count. Officials cited the rise in cases due largely to increased testing, contact tracing, workplace outbreaks “as well as potential spread in the community.”
The largest outbreak, which was first made public Monday, is associated with Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Union County.
The Observer newspaper of La Grande reported that the church held services in April and May even though Oregon COVID-19 restrictions limited gatherings. Also, The Observer reported the facility recently held a wedding and a graduation ceremony, each with more than 100 people.
Attempts by The Associated Press to reach representatives of the church were not successful Tuesday.
