SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Health officials on Friday chastised a Butte County congregation for hosting a religious service on Mother's Day in which a person infected with COVID-19 attended and exposed more than 180 others to the coronavirus.
An investigation was underway as Butte County Public Health notified those who attended the religious service of their exposure to the infectious respiratory disease on Sunday, according to a news release. County officials did not name the congregation or indicate its location.
Health officials are instructing those who attended the service to self-quarantine. Those attendees have been given information about how to monitor themselves for symptoms, how to contact public health officials and what to do if they become symptomatic. Health officials were working with health care partners to provide testing for everyone who attended the service.
The person at the religious service who had contracted the virus received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis the day after the service and is now isolated at home, according to the news release.
As of Thursday, Butte County had reported 22 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and had no deaths due to the disease.
Under Gov. Gavin Newsom's March 19 stay-at-home order, which remains in effect, gatherings of any size are not allowed. Butte County's "Stage 2" local reopening plan does not give local authority to allow gatherings.
County officials said those gatherings may be considered when the county moves forward to "Stage 3" of the local reopening plan. But they said unauthorized gatherings like these can place greater risk on the county's ability to continue opening at a faster rate than the state.
"At this time, organizations that hold in-person services or gatherings are putting the health and safety of their congregations, the general public and our local ability to open up at great risk," said Danette York, director of Butte County Public Health.
County officials said this religious organization chose to open its doors despite the statewide order to slow the spread of coronavirus, which causes COVID-19.
Defying the order resulted in exposing the entire congregation to COVID-19, according to the news release, and the Mother's Day service "comes at a cost of many hours and a financial burden to respond effectively to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19."
Butte County is among more than 20 California counties that have been authorized by the governor's office to move more quickly through Stage 2 of the state's reopening plan
"Moving too quickly through the reopening process can cause a major setback and could require us to revert back to more restrictive measures," York said in the news release. "We implore everyone to follow the state order and our reopening plan to help combat the potential spread of COVID-19."
