DOUBLE DOWN

Another Wedding for Maine Pastor Tied to Deadly Outbreak?

His son is getting married and there are plans for an indoor ceremony and a reception in New Hampshire.

On Aug. 7, Pastor Todd Bell presided at a crowded wedding in Maine that has now been tied to 180 coronavirus cases and at least eight deaths. Now his son is getting married in neighboring New Hampshire, with an indoor ceremony and reception, the Bangor Daily News reports. A “family minister” will conduct the wedding, but it’s not clear if that’s the pastor himself. A spokesperson for the New Hampshire church said 50 attendees will wear masks and be socially distanced for the short ceremony. “I would be more worried about the reception than I would sitting in a church with a mask on for 15, 20 minutes,” she said. Maine health officials say attendees of the August celebration at the Big Moose Inn brought COVID-19 into the community with disastrous results, particularly for a nursing home and a jail.