Dozens in 2 KY counties face quarantine after potential coronavirus exposures at 2 churches
Church services in two Kentucky counties have led to potential exposure to the novel coronavirus for dozens of people.
In Pulaski County, 40 people are in self-quarantine after potentially being exposed to the coronavirus at a church service last Sunday, local officials said Friday.
And in Calloway County, University Church of Christ in Murray advised its congregation, which included around 150 people Sunday, to self-quarantine for the next 10 days, it said in a since-deleted Facebook post
A person who attended the church last Sunday has tested positive for the virus that causes the COVID-19 respiratory illness, so others may have been exposed.
Officials confirmed that Pulaski County’s first positive test for the virus that causes COVID-19 is a 59-year-old woman.
The woman had gone to a church service before being tested for coronavirus and there were 40 others there, meaning they were potentially exposed, Shawn Crabtree, head of the Lake Cumberland District Health Department, said Friday.
Crabtree said all the churchgoers had agreed to self-quarantine.
Health workers were doing screenings to figure out how closely others at the service interacted with the infected woman, and for how long. It’s likely many of the churchgoers weren’t at high risk, and the health department is not recommending they all be tested, Crabtree said.
If they are considered high risk, however, health workers will also track down people they had contact with after leaving church.
Crabtree said it’s a good example of why it is critical for people to follow “social distancing” recommendations to stay at least six feet away from people, to avoid gatherings, and to shut down venues where people could be exposed.
“You can see how quickly this spider-webs out,” Crabtree said.
Crabtree said to his knowledge the 59-year-old woman was still feeling healthy.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear urged last week for church services to be canceled statewide amid the coronavirus pandemic, but many still held services. He has since signed an order banning gatherings including church services.
A minister said the Murray church ad faced heavy criticism for having service last Sunday in the wake of the positive coronavirus test.
Some earlier positive coronavirus cases were linked by attendance at a Harrison County church, but that was before Beshear had called for a cessation of services.
There also is a second presumed positive case in Pulaski County, a 48-year-old woman, officials said. Those are the first cases in the Lake Cumberland region.
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 2:59 PM.
