United House of Players for All in Charlotte, NC, Spread Coronavirus, Locals Says

The United House of Prayer for All People is a gorgeous jewel-like structure protected by lion statues on either side of the entrance, where the blue and red crosses hang high.The church was established A century ago And to this day, it is known for its “screaming” band and mass baptism. Charlotte Observer report.

Mecklenburg County Public Health Service statement On Wednesday, visitors from Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and South Carolina attended a series of church events from October 4th to 11th. The decision is not mature enough.

“Two weeks ago, the situation looked very good, but I said it was fragile,” Reynard Washington, deputy director of the county commission in Mecklenburg County, told the county commission on Tuesday night. It was. WCNC-TV.. Washington said the county’s daily incidents almost doubled just last week. “We’ve seen this happen really quickly, really quickly,” he added.

County spokeswoman Rebecca Carter refused to answer certain questions from The Daily Beast on Thursday and instead pointed out a statement from the department. Carter previously said authorities did not know the exact number of people who attended the service both indoors and outdoors, with other large-scale events in the church reaching up to 1,000 in total, while smaller events As a week, he said he could not confirm the report that up to 50 people were included Observer report.

by Charlotte Cultural GuideThe main sanctuary of the church has a small chapel that can accommodate 2,500 worshipers and 700 people, a fully equipped commercial kitchen and dining area that can accommodate up to 300 patrons, and an additional private dining area. there is. 100 regular customers.

On Thursday, no call for comment on the House of Unified Prayer for All was returned.

North Carolina is now Phase 3 The reopening plan, at least until November 13, recommends, but does not require, face-to-face worship to be limited to 100 people per room or 30% capacity, whichever is less. State guidelines also require facilities to “ensure sufficient social distance at least 6 feet between non-family groups.”

But this was more than just church service.

“In the gathering, people from all over the country, and perhaps from all over the world, come to the festival’s events,” County Commissioner Vilma Leak said at a press conference Wednesday.

One woman, Kathryn Williams, Told to WBTV At the end of Thursday, her mother-in-law died a few days after joining the service, but she was unable to undergo the COVID-19 test before she died. She also told a local television station that her mother-in-law’s sister was hospitalized and tested positive for the virus. Both women attended an event held at the United House of Players for All, but Williams said they were uncertain where they were infected.

“They wore masks, but that was just the fact that people from different states came here,” Williams said. “I mean, if there was a COVID, they should have canceled it.”

As of Thursday, there were 32,264 cumulative confirmed cases and 376 deaths in Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, compared to a total of 250,592 confirmed cases in North Carolina. Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center..

Washington said at a press conference Wednesday that eight of the church-related cases and at least one of the fatalities were residents of Charlotte’s retirement and nursing homes, and all residents are currently being examined. .. Authorities have so far attempted to reach at least 131 close contacts in confirmed cases, in addition to other state health departments. Of all confirmed cases, five patients were hospitalized, Washington said.

Washington explained that the county also offered to offer tests on the church itself, but leaders refused to host a test site on their property.

“They weren’t interested,” Washington said.

According to Greer, the Genesis project was ready to conduct more than 300 tests on Sunday, but only 1-2 dozen test takers were seen per day on sites around the city. “We are testing across this area and tried to inform the minister, but of course it was very difficult to contact them, so we contacted some members to prepare for the test. Informed that they were done. They on Sunday. “

They never replied, Greer said.

“We will be worried about the incident every day,” she continued. “As we travel around the city, people still find that it’s too inadequate to wear masks or distance.”

“Typically, [Charlotte residents are] I don’t take it seriously, “Glia told The Daily Beast. “That’s what we see overall.”

Despite the seeming lack of interest from the church, the Department of Health this week is free near the church grounds to curb local outbreaks and identify subsequent infections more quickly. The statement said it would continue to provide drive-through tests.

Washington Told reporters The department asked the church to stop holding the event altogether, but there was no response from the leaders as to whether they would listen to the request. Still, Washington said he was in daily contact with the church’s chief pastor.

On Wednesday, State Health Department Release new data Analyze which facilities are associated with the most infections in the North Carolina case during the pandemic process. In recent weeks, clusters from social gatherings such as “party, family gatherings, weddings, funerals” have increased, as in other parts of the country, according to the report.

However, the data also showed that the number of cases associated with religious assembly clusters increased in September, with cases associated with colleges and university settings peaking in late August. The number of cases has been steadily decreasing since early May at early facilities that produced clusters, such as meat and poultry processing plants.

The report found that there were 168 clusters at a university in North Carolina, resulting in a total of 1,902 infections and zero deaths. Religious rallies, on the other hand, resulted in 76 clusters, 1,040 cases and 13 deaths in the state.

However, according to health experts, pandemic malaise, or enthusiasm for personal freedom, is no excuse to contribute to the nationwide fresh wave of coronaviruses.

“Attempting to prevent the death of our community members should not be a political issue,” said Viviana Martínez-Bianchi, an associate professor of family medicine and community health at Duke University. It was. “We are all tired. The community is tired, the healthcare professionals are tired and we are all tired of wearing masks. But I’m not ready to say,” Let’s give up this and allow more people to die. “