Texas Pastor Apologizes For Allowing Hugging At Church After Dozens Contract COVID-19
A Texas pastor has apologized for failing to keep people socially distanced at his evangelical church, after he and dozens of congregants reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.
Calvary Chapel of San Antonio has held multiple indoor, in-person services since it reopened in early May, right after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) let the state’s stay-at-home order expire. As hospitalizations and positivity rates surged in Texas over the past few weeks, members of the church began testing positive for the novel coronavirus.
The church has at least 50 cases of the novel coronavirus, lead pastor Ron Arbaugh told NBC-affiliate WOAI-TV on Saturday. Most of the positive cases are staff members ― including Arbaugh, his wife, at least one other main pastor, and children’s ministry staff. The majority of impacted individuals have reported mild symptoms, the pastor said.
The rise in cases prompted the church, based in Universal City on the border of San Antonio, to briefly suspend large in-person services.
Arbaugh and Calvary Chapel of San Antonio did not immediately return HuffPost’s request for comment.
Arbaugh told the San Antonio Express-News that coronavirus-related restrictions were stricter when his church first opened. But in mid-June, he started loosening those rules. Videos of the church’s services in May and June show worship leaders and some congregants singing without masks.
From a scientific perspective, houses of worship are different from locations like grocery stores and even restaurants because of what happens during services. Attendees of religious services are more comfortable being in close proximity to each other than they would be to strangers at a retail store. In addition, high-powered vocalizations ― such as what happens during loud talking or singing ― are particularly efficient in producing tiny, aerosolized respiratory droplets that can linger in the air inside buildings for some time. There have been several
