Report: Cleveland pastor says he's recovered from COVID, "more than 12" at church have it
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — UPDATE (Thursday, July 9):
The lead pastor of a Cleveland church where a COVID-19 cluster broke out says he has recovered from the virus.
Westmore Church of God Pastor Kelvin Page sat down for an interview with Cleveland's Mix 104.1 radio station on Thursday.
We first reported last week that there were at least a dozen cases of coronavirus at the church. (See our earlier report below)
Now, Page says he knows it's "a lot more" than that, but he did not have an exact number. "We have been hit hard," said Page in the interview.
As far as protocols in place to protect congregants, Page says they did everything short of requiring masks.
"And again it [the virus] slipped in on us through the choir. And once it hit there, it really hit," said Page during the interview.
Page says the next two Sundays - July 12th and 19th - will be online-only services.
They will re-evaluate again before returning to in-person services.
See our earlier report below.
ORIGINAL STORY (Thursday, July 2):
The Westmore Church of God in Cleveland has announced it is suspending in-person services as a way to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among several of its congregants.
The church sent out an announcement this week saying leadership discovered a "small number" of church members had either been diagnosed with the virus or were exhibiting symptoms.
Last Friday, the church announced it was aware of 12 members of the congregation who had been positively diagnosed.
On Thursday, the church would not say how many additional cases there are since Friday's announcement.
The church is now returning to virtual services until at least July 11th. That’s after holding in-person services since May.
Tennessee’s Health Commissioner says Bradley County is a growing hotspot.
"Multiple rural counties are experiencing significantly higher case counts including Sevier, Rutherford, Macon and Bradley counties,” said Dr. Lisa Piercy, Tennessee’s Health Commissioner.
According to Governor Bill Lee’s requirements to reopen places of worship, churches need to provide seating six feet apart. Guidelines also say to wear masks.
According to the church's Facebook page, they had "1,250 available seats in the sanctuary."
According to the news release, the church offered three options:
- Traditional in-person sanctuary experience
- A separate room in the church where social distancing was enforced
- Livestream
But now, services will be suspended until at least July 11th.
We are working to learn more on this story. Depend on us for updates as we get them.
