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40 Worshippers Infected With COVID-19 After Alabama Revival

Congregants at the event were not required to wear masks.

More than 40 members of an Alabama Baptist church contracted the coronavirus after attending a revival last week. Masks were not required at the weeklong event at the Warrior Creek Missionary Baptist Church, despite a statewide mandate that went into place earlier this month. Pastor Daryl Ross told AL.com he ended the revival after being informed Thursday that a congregant had tested positive for the virus. Only two congregants experienced severe symptoms, and the man who initially tested positive for the virus was asymptomatic, the pastor said.  “We let everybody do what they felt like,” Ross said of the virus-related restrictions at the event. “We social distanced. Most of them sat with their own family. If you were comfortable shaking hands, you shook hands. If you didn’t, you didn’t.” Ross said he has also tested positive.