Large Fairmont church service has health officials concerned

FAIRMONT, W.Va. – Marion County Health Department officials are looking into a report of about 200 people attending a church service over the weekend at the Covenant Church in Fairmont.

Health department administrator Lloyd White says now it’s a waiting game to see how many, if any cases result from the service.

“When you have group that size, and it’s my understanding maybe they came from five states,” White said,”Then obviously I’m quite sure there was probably somebody there, maybe asymptomatic but capable of spreading the virus.”

White tells WAJR News he has seen pictures of the gathering and that raises his concern even higher.

“I can only say from the photos that I looked at they certainly were not maintaining social distancing or wearing masks,” White said,”It really comes down to someone knowing what to do, but then making sure that they do it.”

The most recent information about the virus says from the time of exposure to symptoms could be from five to 13 days. White says they will be monitoring possible cases.

“I’m praying that no one was exposed and no one is going to get the illness,” White said,”It just wasn’t wise to have that kind of event with that type of crowd without taking the proper precautions.”

As potential cases surface White says contact tracing would be nearly impossible to do accurately.

“It will still be difficult to do a follow up because who were you exposed to,”White said,”If I attended a church service with people I don’t know, I have no idea who they were.”

“As a Christian I believe in attending church services, but I also believe in attending church services faithfully,” White said,”So, my message would be, maintain social distancing, wear a mask, cough and sneeze etiquette and hand hygiene-if we do all four of those things and we do them to the best of our abilities then we don’t have to worry about an increase or spike in cases.”