More COVID-19 deaths linked to super-spreader event at Charlotte church

Two more people have died of coronavirus-related complications tied to October convocation events at a Charlotte church, bringing the death toll to at least eight.

That includes seven Mecklenburg County residents and one Gaston County resident, Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris told county commissioners during their Wednesday night board meeting.

The number of COVID-19 infections and secondary exposures stemming from last month’s mass gatherings at the United House of Prayer for All People on Beatties Ford Road appears to have leveled off.

“We are seeing a real reduction in the number of cases — there’s very few at this point,” Harris said.

Mecklenburg’s latest disclosure comes one day before the church’s flagship location is slated to reopen for in-person worship services.

There are now 187 confirmed cases connected to the church, with six new infections reported since Friday. Of those, 179 are among Mecklenburg residents, according to Harris’s report. Four Gaston County residents, four Iredell County residents and one Cabarrus County resident were also infected.

The super-spreader event is Mecklenburg’s largest coronavirus outbreak to date, local officials have said. It has led to 11 known hospitalizations, though the severity of patients’ illnesses remain unclear.

The true scope of infections among attendees, now sprawling across the country, is not being tracked by local health officials, Harris has previously told reporters. But Mecklenburg has notified health departments in California, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Washington, D.C.

Temporary closure

A rare public health intervention, known as an order of abatement of imminent hazard, forced the United House of Prayer to temporarily shut down operations.

Harris imposed the strict measure on Oct. 24 to slow the spread of COVID-19, warning that church leaders had initially failed to cooperate and comply with contact tracing efforts. The health department has attempted to reach 269 close contacts.

County Manager Diorio emphasized Mecklenburg’s action was not meant to be punitive.

“Our primary responsibility is to protect public health and safety,” Diorio said Wednesday.

Still, an attorney representing the United House of Prayer had blasted Mecklenburg’s “overbroad” decision to clamp down on religious gatherings. And a church leader, Apostle Ronnie White, said the closures were distressing, particularly in “difficult times” amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Daily services are fundamental to our beliefs, and this result preserves our right to worship God together as a community in the manner that is sacred and meaningful to us,” White said in a statement released by church attorneys last Friday.

But clergy were cleared to reopen their multiple facilities across Charlotte after consenting to health inspections and other coronavirus safeguards like social distancing and mask wearing for congregants.

Harris’s modified order delineates capacity limits at each site, ranging from 25 people in one location to 300 in the main complex at 2321 Beatties Ford Road.

“We continue to work with the church to try to help them with their capacity and also compliance,” Harris said Wednesday. “They’ve been responsive to us.”

Harris said the county’s COVID-19 ambassadors, trained to help local businesses adhere to safety protocols, have started visiting churches, too.

Free COVID-19 testing

The convocation events held between Oct. 4-11 also was tied to a coronavirus cluster at the Madison Saints Paradise Independence Living facility near the church.

Sixteen residents were infected, with two deaths reported there, according to Harris. Three staff members tested positive for COVID-19, as well.

Transmission of COVID-19 at religious gatherings is responsible for at least 95 clusters across the state, fueling 1,310 cases and 19 deaths, according a report issued Monday by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Yet those cases have decreased in the past week, compared to the previous three weeks, the agency said.

Mecklenburg and StarMed Health are hosting free drive-thru COVID-19 testing at the health department’s Beatties Ford Road location.

Health officials urge anyone with symptoms or who may been exposed to coronavirus to get tested. Antigen test results are available within 15 minutes for symptomatic patients, and traditional molecular test results are provided within about 48 hours.

There have been 35,390 coronavirus cases in Mecklenburg since the start of the pandemic in March, N.C. DHHS reported Wednesday morning. That’s a rate of 319 infections for every 10,000 residents.

And the county on Tuesday evening hit another milestone, surpassing 400 known deaths linked to coronavirus-related complications.

This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 2:44 PM.