Eight people have tested positive for COVID-19 during a church revival in southwest Missouri last week. The individuals had symptoms and were contagious during the six-day event at New Life Fellowship Church in Crane, according to the Stone County Health Department. It’s possible the individuals were positive before attending the meeting.
More than 100 individuals were at the revival, with no social-distancing measures taken. Sixty-seven of the churchgoers have been told to quarantine for 14 days, while just a few of them have any symptoms. County health officials did not explain why all attendees were forced into quarantine.
“This is an unfortunate situation for our community and specifically the town of Crane,” said Pam Burnett, administrator of the county health department. “In order to contain the spread of the virus, we have to know who attended and whether or not they have become ill since attending. We sincerely hope that if the attendees are not willing to contact the health department, they will consider that they could be contagious and spread the illness to someone who is not able to recover. We urge anyone who attended to quarantine, monitor for symptoms and get tested if symptoms develop.”
The Soul Harvest Revival was held from August 2-7. The eight individuals who tested positive were symptomatic and contagious before and during the beginning of the event, according to the health department. The positive cases are spread over multiple counties as well as their contacts Several of these contacts are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and are awaiting test results.
“In a case like this where the names of all the attendees are not known, we have to rely on the community to contact us,” Burnett said. “We are aware that all individuals who attended the revival have not been in contact with us.”
The health department will provide an update when more information becomes available.
All of the cases are mild and are not life-threatening. Current statistics point to a death rate of between .26 and .65.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
