Americans are cautiously returning to in-person religious services as vaccination rates rise and COVID-19 deaths decline, according to a survey conducted this month. But the Pew Research Center study also found that attendance at weekly services remains lower than pre-pandemic levels and that the clear majority continues to say that various modifications and restrictions — such as social distancing, mask-wearing and limiting the number of people who can attend at any one time — are needed to continue the fight against the spread of the virus.

Source: Americans slowly returning to in-person church but many still cautious about Easter

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ADDISON COUNTY, VERMONT — According to the state health commissioner, a church may have had about 100 cases in what he called the “Christmas effect.”  The church has discontinued meeting in person until the end of the current spike.

Source: Vermont sees spike in COVID-19 cases

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Podcast interview with Dr. Emily Smith, epidemiologist

To over 50,000 Facebook followers, she’s known as “Your Friendly Neighbor Epidemiologist,” sharing accessible and actionable insights into the COVID-19 pandemic. Those followers, however, may not know that the Baylor professor behind that account is a leader in global health and an advocate for surgical care for children around the world. In this Baylor Connections, Emily Smith, assistant professor of epidemiology, shares the story behind her highly-regarded social media outreach and takes listeners into the halls of the United Nations to understand the need for increased access to surgical care for children and their families.

Source: Emily Smith

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In recent weeks, Ireland has achieved a sharp upward trajectory of Covid cases.  They now have one of the highest rates of spread per million population.  A newer, more contagious variant of Covid has contributed to this increased rate of spread.

As this highly-contagious variant makes its way around the world, caution is more important than ever.  Those in positions of influence should encourage those around them to follow basic precautions to protect their communities.

Source: Covid-19: Concern as Irish infection rate becomes ‘world’s highest’

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An impressive set of resources has been compiled by the Presbyterian Church PC(USA) to offer guidance during the Coronavirus pandemic.  These resources include worship, issues regarding resumption of in-person services, utilization of technology and how to provide support to the community.

The links shown are not necessarily specific to the denomination.  They draw from a large number of sources.  Many of these links should prove useful for church leaders, regardless of denomination.

Source: Coronavirus/COVID-19 Resource Center

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The Christian County Health Department has advised anybody who attended events at James River Church to monitor themselves for Covid symptoms for 14 days.

James River Church responded Monday to complaints after social media images show little social distancing and few masks at its Christmas celebrations over the weekend.

Sources: James River Church responds to complaints about crowded, unmasked Christmas services

https://www.ksmu.org/post/health-officials-warn-all-who-attended-james-river-services-watch-covid-symptoms#stream/0

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“An unexplored public health intervention for the general public is the concept of wearing eye protection when in public spaces with high traffic,” Jonathan Shenkin and Daniela Bacherini write.

Source: Opinion: Eye protection for the public may prevent COVID-19 transmission

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Every December for over a century, there has been a performance of The Messiah at First Mennonite Church in Berne, Indiana.  The 2020 performance was significantly different than prior years.

First, the concert was given online only, with no audience present.
Second, the choir was limited in size and spread around where the audience would have been.
Third, the performance was shortened, curtailing most of the second half of The Messiah, but of course The Hallelujah Chorus was included.

Watch it by clicking below.
The Messiah – Berne, Indiana 2020

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While Australia is an island (a very large continent-island) they have demonstrated that it is possible to contain covid.  They are using measures that are very familiar to all of us: wearing masks, social distancing, contact tracing.

Australia’s most populous state said that from Monday it would remove limits on the number of people at weddings, bars and religious services and end a ban on public venue dancing as a run of coronavirus-free days prompted a broad downgrade of social distancing rules.

Though Australia has reported some new coronavirus cases in returned travellers in quarantine, the country has largely stopped community transmission of the virus with contact tracing, distancing measures and mandatory mask-wearing.

Source: COVID-free for days, Australian state resumes singing, dancing, religious services

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The video is about one hour long, but very worthwhile as his expertise adds much useful information to help church leaders.

The post Science for the Road Ahead: Air Conditioning, Fans and Ventilation appeared first on Church and Covid.