| Rick, I'm not a pastor, but as I posted here, I've been following COVID-19 more closely than most.Here are the CDC's recommendations for preventing COVID-19 in faith-based communities.If I was a pastor, there are a few things I would implement immediately.First and foremost, if you do not feel well, please do not come to church. New research shows that COVID-19 can travel 4.5 meters (15 feet) by cough and stay suspended in the air for up to 30 minutes (source). The dry cough is the most common symptom of COVID-19 with fewer than half of the infected getting a fever or having trouble breathing. This means COVID-19 can feel like a very mild cold, and we have been conditioned to go about our normal routines when we have a very mild cold. It is common to have policies in church nurseries and children's church that you should not bring your child to class if they have had a fever or vomited in the past 24 hours to prevent the spread of illness, but it is also common to guilt those who do not come to church with what we consider to be a mild illness. Until COVID-19 dies down, we have to take mild coughs very seriously because the death rate for those who catch COVID-19 is somewhere between 1% and 5% with many epidemiologists reporting that they believe it is 3.5%. Going to church if you have any symptoms of COVID-19 when the death rate is 3.5% is simply unacceptable. People need to understand that it is okay to miss church for two weeks if they show symptoms and that they are actually |