MASS EXPOSURE

Over 500 People Exposed to D.C. Priest With Coronavirus

D.C. officials urged hundreds who shook hands with the priest and received communion from him to self-quarantine for two weeks.

A priest in Washington, D.C., who reportedly gave communion and shook hands with more than 500 people at a church has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Washington officials are calling on hundreds of worshippers who attended the Christ Church in Georgetown to self-quarantine for 14 days due to their contact with Rev. Timothy Cole on several dates, The Washington Post reported. The Episcopal church reportedly closed on Sunday for the first time since the 1800s. “That is when our case was symptomatic, so anybody who was potentially exposed during that time, out of caution and best practices for disease control, that’s the recommendation,” said Anjali Talwalkar, a top official at the D.C. Health Department. Cole, who is reportedly in stable condition in a D.C. hospital, started showing symptoms in late February and participated in church services on March 1 with 550 worshippers.