The widespread reopening of churches since Donald Trump declared worship an “essential service” in May has led to new outbreaks of the Covid-19 coronavirus, reports the New York Times.
“More than 650 coronavirus cases have been linked to nearly 40 churches and religious events across the United States since the beginning of the pandemic, with many of them erupting over the last month,” the Times says.
Those religious “events” include Christian youth camps like Kanakuk Kamps in Missouri, which is linked to more than 80 coronavirus cases.
About 50 of the new cases developed among congregants and staff members at the Calvary Chapel in San Antonio TX, where the pastor told worshipers it was okay to hug one another. Pastor Ron Arbaugh says he now regrets giving that advice, although all the cases have been mild so far.
In June, just 10 days after the Graystone Baptist Church in Ronceverte WV resumed Sunday services, with masks optional, when congregants began to fall ill. There have now been at least 51 confirmed cases and three deaths tied to the church, say local health officials.
Some observers say the Times is overblowing the story. That appears to be based solely on the article’s headline: “Churches Were Eager to Reopen. Now They Are a Major Source of Coronavirus Cases.”
Whether 650 cases out of the national total of more than 3 million makes churches a “major” source is surely open to debate, but it’s worth noting that the word is used only in the newspaper’s headline, not in the body of the story.
But public health experts say that even in churches where masks are worn and social-distancing guidelines are observed, singing by choirs and congregations and preaching by clergymen easily spreads moisture droplets carrying the virus.
A church gathering is “an ideal setting for transmission. You have a lot of people in a closed space. And they’re speaking loudly, they’re singing. All those things are exactly what you don’t want,” Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease expert at Emory University, told the Times.
There’s a chance this might affect the Trump White House directly.
Vice President Mike Pence attended a service last Sunday at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, where at least five members of the choir and orchestra tested positive for the virus in June and another is suspected, BuzzFeed News reports. None of the six was in the megachurch when Pence visited.
But the choir and orchestra performed for Pence and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott without masks; wearing a mask would of course be impossible for players of wind instruments and little easier for singers.
“The congregants, some in masks, waved American flags while the choir and orchestra pumped out rapturous versions of ‘America the Beautiful’ and ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ on a glowing purple stage,” BuzzFeed says.
This was just one day before the Texas Department of State Health Services reported more than 5,900 Covid-19 hospitalizations, the state’s highest ever; and Dallas reported a record-high day as well. Gov. Abbott pushed to reopen the state in May, only to roll it back last week as the number of cases surged.
