COVID-19 outbreak temporarily closes Chatham-Kent church

A COVID-19 community outbreak in a Chatham-Kent church has forced the congregation to shut its doors for the next two weeks.

Pastor Tim Joyce of Blenheim Word of Life Church, located in Blenheim,posted on the institution's Facebook page that one of its "church families" has tested positive for COVID-19. Joyce said since he was in contact with the family, he has been advised by Chatham-Kent Public Health to self-isolate for the next 14 days.

"I have not tested positive for the virus," Joyce wrote. "As a precautionary measure I have made the decision to close Word of Life Church for twoweeks ... I would appreciate everyone's prayers and support during this time."

The pastor did not want to comment to CBC News.

In an emailed statement to CBC News, Chatham-Kent Public Health confirmed the community outbreak in a "place of worship" and said it has advised individuals to isolate.

The health unit defined community outbreak as taking place "in a specific setting ... whereas transmission is a loss of control to the spread of the virus in the community."

The statement continued to say that the health unit hasthis "under control with contact tracing, isolating confirmed cases/close contacts and of course, the community doing their part to stop large scale spread of COVID-19."

Theoutbreak is happeningthe same week that Chatham-Kent has reported an uptick in community cases.

On Tuesday, the health unit reportedthat two people from St. Anne Catholic School in Blenheim, along with a service provider that works with both the St. Clair Catholic District School Board and Lambton-Kent District School Board have tested positive.

In addition, probable cases atHarwich Raleigh Public School and Blenheim District High School have put 41 studentsin isolation.

As of Thursday, the health unit is reporting 14 active cases. In total the region has seen 385 cases and three people have died from the disease.

More to come.