At least 42 people who have tested positive for coronavirus are linked to a Maine church that’s been hosting indoor services, and health officials said Tuesday that number could continue to rise, “perhaps significantly.”
The Brooks Pentecostal Church in Waldo County hosted between 100 and 150 people at a “fellowship gathering” from Oct. 2-4, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Services ignored several coronavirus protocols, including mask usage, gathering sizes and social distancing.
“Masks were available but not routinely used,” Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah said at a press conference Tuesday.
Videos from services still available on the church’s Facebook page show packed pews with few masks.
“I would like to express sadness over the resulting sickness that has been spread by the virus,” Pastor M.W. Shaw, who works security at a local hospital, said in a statement Tuesday. “Though the origin of the virus is unclear, we will be addressing all recommendations and guidelines provided to us by the CDC. Our church will be addressing our continuity of worship in a safe and orderly manner.”
Of the 42 cases, seven are linked to the church’s school, Lighthouse Christian Academy.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills cautioned critics though, that “99.9%? of religious leaders are abiding by the state’s COVID protocols and have been “extraordinarily cooperative.”
“They don’t wish for their parishioners, staff and choir members to be exposed to this virus,” Mills said at the press conference Tuesday.
