At least 34 individuals who have connections to an Arkansas church have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and that number could climb higher as more testing is completed.
Donald Shipp, a deacon at First Assembly of God in Greers Ferry, Ark., told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that all 34 attended a “Kids Crusade” event March 6-8. Among the infected are pastor Mark Palenske and his wife, Dena.
The event was held prior to the CDC’s guidance to limit mass gatherings.
“It clearly made its way through a special weekend of children’s ministry at our church,” Palenske wrote in a Facebook post.
COVID-19, he added, is “highly contagious.”
“The intensity of this virus has been underestimated by so many, and I continue to ask that each of you take it very seriously,” he wrote. An act of wisdom and restraint on your part can be the blessing that preserves the health of someone else.”
Vice President Mike Pence has said the coronavirus is three times as contagious as the flu. It’s also 10 times deadlier than the flu, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci of the Coronavirus Task Force.
Danyelle McNeill, an Arkansas Department of Health spokeswoman, said Monday there were “connections to travel” with the outbreak at the church.
Palenske said he and his wife had not traveled outside the state.
Gracie Campbell, a member of the church, said the outbreak was a…
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