2 have died from coronavirus cases linked to NC church events, county says
At least two people have died from COVID-19 cases linked to events at a Charlotte church, Mecklenburg County said Wednesday evening.
The number of cases of COVID-19 connected to those events at the United House of Prayer for All People have climbed to 68. At least four people have been hospitalized, the county said Wednesday.
The COVID-19 outbreak linked to the church is the largest outbreak publicly reported by Mecklenburg County Public Health.
The county has notified other local health departments in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, New Jersey and New York to monitor for cases connected to the church events.
The county also said it will host a no-cost, drive-thru testing event at a health department site from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday at 2845 Beatties Ford Road near the church. United House of Prayer for All People leaders have not agreed to conduct testing on site, Mecklenburg health officials told county commissioners Tuesday.
At least six people who live at Madison Saints Paradise Independent Living who attended events at the church now have confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the county. Representatives from the senior home near Beatties Ford Road declined to comment.
One of the people who has died was connected to that cluster at Madison Saints Paradise Independent Living, Deputy Health Director Raynard Washington said.
In an email Wednesday, Mecklenburg County said the facility has reported that all residents have been tested for COVID-19.
An email to the House of Prayer’s headquarters in Washington was not returned Wednesday. Calls to the local church also have not been returned and a reporter was unable to knock on the church door because gates to the property were closed Wednesday.
The county does not know how many people attended events this month at the church at 2321 Beatties Ford Road, Carter said. Initially, the county linked the outbreak to church convocation events the weekend of Oct. 10-11.
The county has received reports of small events with 25 to 50 people and larger events with up to 1,000 people throughout the week of Oct. 4 through 11, but those reports are unconfirmed, Carter said.
Facebook posts from people who say they attended convocation events at the Beatties Ford church appear to show that some people traveled to Charlotte from as far as Atlanta and Virginia.
‘Do the right thing’
County health officials first announced the outbreak Saturday, saying at least nine COVID-19 cases were connected to United House of Prayer.
And county officials identified “more than 23” cases on Monday, the Observer reported. By Tuesday, the number of cases had more than doubled, Washington told county commissioners.
And the number has continued to grow, with at least 18 more cases reported Wednesday, in what the county called an “outbreak.”
Washington described the gathering connected to the cases as a “convocation event” on Oct. 10 and 11, with other events throughout the week. There were activities both indoors and outdoors.
In a statement Monday, Washington said the event organizers made “significant efforts to ensure mask wearing and social distancing among the hundreds of attendees.”
“We really want to make sure our community is aware that there were certainly individuals who were infectious at those events,” he said Tuesday. “We want folks to do the right thing and get tested and quarantine, isolate and follow our instructions.”
Mecklenburg County Public Health is trying to reach 94 close contacts reported by the 68 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Washington said he spoke to a church leader and advised that the church not hold gatherings in the coming weeks. “We simply don’t know how far the spread has gone at this particular point,” he said.
A total of 76 clusters resulting in 1,040 COVID-19 cases have been linked to religious gatherings in North Carolina, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Providing resources
Officials have urged everyone who attended events at the church from Oct 4-11 to be tested and monitor for symptoms.
Washington encouraged people who have attended or been close to someone who has to answer calls from contact tracers. A list of Mecklenburg testing sites can be found at: https://meck.co/3ka8gLE.
The county offered testing Sunday after announcing the first nine cases connected to the event. One hundred and eighty-two people were tested at that testing event on Sunday and have received their testing results, Washington said.
“Our responsibility is to provide the resources necessary,” including testing opportunities, said Vilma Leake, whose district includes the church.
She said the event included attendees from all over the country. She called a church elder from Washington on speaker phone, who told commissioners Tuesday night that the church had taken precautions to space out seating and had hand sanitizer.
Washington said contact tracing is more challenging when trying to reach attendees who have since left the area.
The church event is one of several large gatherings that have resulted in outbreaks, including cases tied to a beer festival at Olde Mecklenburg Brewery.
County data through Sunday shows 31,561 cases reported since the pandemic began in March and 377 deaths. The test positivity rate for the last 14 days was 6%, an increase from recent weeks.
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 9:14 PM.
%20Cropped.jpg)