Given that the Trump administration has failed to give reasonable, consistent guidance and recommendations for life amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, it’s hardly surprising that instances of the virus spreading have been traced back to various social events. Sometimes clusters have been tied to weddings, family vacations, or, in multiple instances, religious gatherings. Most recently, a cluster of more than 50 COVID-19 cases, involving both people who attended the event and close contacts to those people, have been tied to a week-long church event in Charlotte, North Carolina.
As reported by local outlet WSOC, as of Wednesday, 51 confirmed cases of the virus have been linked to church activities at the United House of Prayer for All People. An additional 75 people who have been in close contact with those who have the virus have also been asked to quarantine. Among people with confirmed COVID-19, one miniature cluster includes five people who live in an assisted living facility.
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According to a statement from the Health Department, the event included hundreds of people. The activities were reportedly held both inside and outside. As the statement puts it, event planners “made significant efforts to ensure mask-wearing and social distancing” but not all who attended were in compliance.
An anonymous person chatted with Channel 9 about his decision to not attend the church event in early October. “I decided because of health reasons in my family, I wasn’t going there," he told the station, adding that it “should have never been held. It was just too many people."
The big picture, of course, is that this pandemic is still ongoing, still potentially deadly, and still disproportionately killing Black and brown people. And as schools reopen, students, teachers, and staff alike are worried about outbreaks. And even still, people are legitimately terrified about finances and avoiding evictions, as federal pandemic relief continues to come up short. After months of inconsistent (or practically nonexistent) stay-at-home guidelines, many people are understandably itching for life to return to normal. But sadly, our lack of national guidance seems to only push that possibility further and further away.