TOUCHED BY A VIRUS

New Hampshire Church Sparks COVID Outbreak With 10-Day Indoor Prayer Retreat

Although participants wore masks during most of the gathering, they took them off to sing, one of the activities most likely to transmit the virus.

A church in Nashua, New Hampshire, hosted a 10-day indoor prayer retreat for hundreds of congregants in mid-September that has since led to an outbreak of COVID-19. At least nine people who attended the gathering at Gate City Church have tested positive for the new coronavirus. Although participants wore masks, stood six to 10 feet apart, and could only occupy half the church, Nashua Public Health Director Bobbie Bagley said they did “take their masks off once they were in their family units to sing. Singing in an enclosed building is one of the riskiest exposure opportunities with the virus.” Bagley said at least one asymptomatic person attended the celebration, when ran from Sept. 18 to 28, and her department is conducting contact tracing among the attendees. The church has since reverted to online-only services. Churches have been tied to local clusters of infection across the country.

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Blake MontgomeryFormer Reporter/Editor

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