BUTTE COUNTY, CA (MPG) - Butte County Public Health (BCPH) COVID-19 contact tracing and investigation is underway in response to a local, in-person religious service held on Mother’s Day where a person with lab confirmed COVID-19 attended.

The infected person received their positive COVID-19 diagnosis the day after the service and is now in home isolation. 

The service had over 180 people in attendance. Individuals attending the service have been notified of their exposure and instructed by BCPH to self-quarantine. Information about how to monitor themselves for symptoms, how to contact BCPH and what to do if they become symptomatic has been provided.

BCPH is working with healthcare partners to establish testing for all individuals who attended the service.

“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,” stated Danette York, Director of Butte County Public Health. “We all need to do our part to follow the orders and mitigation efforts so that our Reopen Butte County plan can continue to move forward. Moving too quickly through the reopening process can cause a major setback and could require us to revert back to more restrictive measures. We implore everyone to follow the State order and our reopening plan to help combat the potential spread of COVID-19.” 

Gatherings of any size have been disallowed by the Governor’s “Stay at Home” order since March 19, 2020. The Stage 2 reopening plan for Butte County does not provide authority to allow gatherings. Those may be considered as we move forward to stage 3 in the future.

Despite the Governor’s order, the organization chose to open its doors, which resulted in exposing the entire congregation to COVID-19. This decision comes at a cost of many hours and a financial burden to respond effectively to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19. Such decisions can place great risk on the County’s ability to continue opening at a faster rate than the State.

If the Governor’s order is not followed, these types of decisions may jeopardize BCPH’s ability to respond adequately to prevent the spread of COVID-19.