Covid-outbreak hit 79 members of an Oregon church that sued over restrictions on in-church services .

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Covid-outbreak hit 79 members of an Oregon church that sued over restrictions on in-church services .

Fri, 2021-05-07 20:18 — mike kraft

An Oregon church sued over covid-19 restrictions. Now, an outbreak there has sickened 74. The Oregon Health Authority said at least 74 people associated with Peoples Church have tested positive for covid-19 — one of the state’s largest workplace outbreaks. Andrea Salcedo Washington Post

In early April, dozens of maskless churchgoers in northwest Oregon stood onstage singing and clapping inside a packed indoor venue for Easter Sunday service. The Peoples Church, which previously sued the state over coronavirus restrictions, hosted three similar indoor services that day, each lasting a little over an hour.

Days later, the state’s health authority began investigating a potential outbreak at the Salem church.

Now, the Oregon Health Authority says that at least 74 people associated with the church have tested positive for the coronavirus — one of the state’s largest workplace outbreaks.

In a statement, the church’s leaders attributed the outbreak to a recent rise in covid-19 cases in Marion County, Ore. “We are concerned about the covid-19 surge in Oregon,” executive pastor Tom Murray said in an email to The Washington Post. “This statewide increase has impacted our entire region, including our church family.”

Murray said the church, which has held in-person services throughout the pandemic, intends to continue with in-person ceremonies on Sunday. ...

Oregon has traced other coronavirus outbreaks to churches. Last June, at least 236 members of a Pentecostal church in eastern Oregon tested positive for the virus. Last month, the state’s Occupational Safety and Health agency received a complaint on an Apostolic church that allegedly failed to enforce masks and social distancing during services; at least 14 parishioners were infected, the Albany Democrat-Herald reported.

Last May, the Peoples Church and nine other Oregon churches sued the state in an attempt to override Gov. Kate Brown’s (D) “Stay Home, Save Lives” coronavirus order that capped statewide gatherings at 25 attendees. The measure did not exempt religious services. The group of churches argued that the restrictions violated their constitutional rights on freedom of religion. ...

The following month, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled against the churches’ in their suit over Brown’s orders. In November, though, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against strict restrictions on religious institutions. ...

According to the report released by the Oregon Health Authority on Wednesday, the most recent case tied to the outbreak at the church was reported on April 29. ...

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