Coronavirus

Churches staying open amidst COVID-19 outbreak see congregants test positive for the virus

Nearly three dozen people who attended a children’s event at an Arkansas church have tested positive for coronavirus, church officials told NBC News.

In an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, deacon Donald Shipp, of First Assembly of God church, said 34 people who attended the event at the Cleburne County church, held earlier in March have tested positive for the virus and many others are still awaiting test results.

Arkansas Department of Health spokeswoman Danyelle McNeill said many coronavirus cases have been connected to a church in Cleburne County, but she didn’t say which church is involved.

“We are still investigating newly reported cases and can’t definitively say they are all connected to one church,” she told NBC News on Thursday. “This is a cluster within a larger outbreak in that area of the state.”

So far, 381 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Arkansas, resulting in three deaths, 40/29 News reports.

As RawStory points out, coronavirus cases are popping up in church congregations across the country. The Daily Herald, reports that around 43 are sick after attending services at The Life Church of Glenview in Illinois, with 10 of them testing positive for coronavirus. NBC News reports that in Arkansas, nearly three dozen people who attended a children’s event at First Assembly of God church in Greers Ferry have tested positive for the virus.

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