Coronavirus outbreak at church leads to hundreds of new cases, Oregon officials say

An outbreak of coronavirus cases in Oregon has been attributed to a church in Union County, officials said.

The Lighthouse United Pentecostal Church in Island City has been linked to at least 236 COVID-19 cases, Deputy State Epidemiology Tom Jeanne said, according to The Oregonian. That amounts to 47% of the 462 cases statewide that were reported since Monday, according to the outlet.

“That does make this the largest single outbreak of COVID-19 in Oregon to date,” Jeanne said, according to The Oregonian.

A video taken on April 26 at the church shows people “close enough to rub shoulders and no one was wearing face coverings,” The Observer, a Union County newspaper, reported. In another video of a May 6 service, churchgoers were “side by side” and not wearing masks, according to the publication.

The church has canceled Sunday’s service “due to recent outbreaks,” according to an announcement on its Facebook page, The Observer reported.

Oregon Health Authority officials said the majority of church-goers have been tested and 50% of the tests in Union County were positive, Willamette Week reported.

Over 2 million people have tested positive for coronavirus in the U.S. as of June 17, according to Johns Hopkins University. In Oregon, 182 people have died from the virus.

This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 7:57 AM with the headline "Coronavirus outbreak at church leads to hundreds of new cases, Oregon officials say."