74 sickened in COVID-19 outbreak at Peoples Church in Salem (Associated Press)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) â Oregon health officials say at least 74 people linked to a church in Salem have contracted COVID-19.
The Oregon Health Authority started investigating the outbreak at the Peoples Church on April 6, The Statesman Journal reported. The state did not release information about the outbreak until Wednesday.
The churchâs website and Facebook page indicates in-person services and events continue to be held there including Motherâs Day services scheduled for Sunday. Officials at Peoples Church declined to respond to questions from the newspaper or acknowledge their specific outbreak.
âWe are concerned about the COVID-19 surge in Oregon. This statewide increase has impacted our entire region, including our church family,â church spokesman Brent Kintz said in an email on behalf of church leadership.
No youâre not or you wouldnât be having in-person church services in a county thatâs been listed as âhighâ or âextremeâ risk for the last several months. Youâre concerned about the money in the basket, and you donât care how many parishioners or other townspeople you kill or sicken to get it. Moving on:
Last year, Peoples Church joined nine other Oregon churches in a legal effort to overturn Gov. Kate Brownâs COVID-19 restrictions. The complaint, filed by California-based Pacific Justice Institute, argued that restrictions on churches violate constitutional protections for religious freedom.
According to the churchâs Facebook page, Lead Pastor Scott Erickson and his wife, Bonnie, both were hospitalized with COVID-19 last month.
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