(ChurchLeaders) At a press conference Tuesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine shared a graphic demonstrating how a 56-year-old man who attended a church service in Tuscarawas County spread COVID-19 to 91 people. One surprising aspect of the chart was how few of the people who contracted the virus were in what we have understood to be the high-risk age group.
“It spread like wildfire. Very, very scary,” said DeWine. He noted, “We’ve been very careful throughout this pandemic to exempt religious services from any regulations. The only exception to that is that we’re now asking people who attend church to wear a mask. But it’s vital that to control the spread of the virus that any time—any time—people get together, including for religious services, that everyone wear masks, practice social distancing, wash their hands and also while indoors, make sure there’s good ventilation and air flow.”