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The Northwestern Health Unit is now linking eight cases of COVID-19 to the outdoor church service in Emo held during the Easter Weekend.
It was held by the Calvary Baptist Church on the grounds of Sturgeon Creek Alternative Program school.
Six cases were reported on Tuesday, prompting the Health Unit to label it an outbreak.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kit Young Hoon says they have also connected the cases to other workplaces, including New Gold’s mine near Barwick.
“There are some connections between the Calvary Baptist Church and the New Gold mine because people, who get affected, they maybe also doing things like that attending other facilities, but that is still under investigation,” says Dr. Young Hoon.
Dr. Young Hoon says they are working with the Church to avoid similar infections in the future.
“We are working very closely with the Church to try to ensure that public health measures are consistently followed. At this point, services are not being held at the Church,” says Dr. Young Hoon.
As of last Sunday, there are being held virtually.
With the outbreak, Dr. Young Hoon advises residents of Emo to adhere to the strict stay-at-home order now in place for all of Ontario.
“It is in all of our collective best interest to follow those restrictions and those orders so that we at this point really make the province-wide effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 and its spread across our region.”
Dr. Young Hoon adds there is no evidence to suggest that it’s variants of concern causing the outbreak.
