Coronavirus Resurgence Causes Slowdown in Re-opening Plans

Coronavirus Pandemic Update June 25, 2020

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A United Methodist Insight Column

Anxious to return to in-person worship and church gatherings, United Methodists were distressed this week by multiple news reports that coronavirus cases are rising alarmingly across the United States. However, Black Lives Matter protests don’t appear to be the cause.

National Public Radio reported that the United States notched its largest one-day increase in coronavirus cases on June 24. According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, more than 34,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported on that date. Some 27 states, mostly in the South and West, are seeing a rise in new daily cases, causing officials in those states to slow their re-opening schedules. “The World Health Organization says the number of cases globally also continues to rise and could exceed 10 million within the next week, warning that many countries are reopening too quickly,” reported NPR.

In addition, multiple news sources report that seven states — Arizona, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — have totaled record-high COVID-19 hospitalizations. More than 800 people died from the disease on June 23 — the first spike in U.S. fatalities since June 7. New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut now require visitors from states with high infection rates to quarantine for 14 days. Public health experts are warning that Houston, Texas, headquarters of the UMC’s Texas Annual Conference, and the state of Florida could become the next COVID-19 epicenters.

"People got complacent," Dr. Marc Boom, CEO of the Houston Methodist hospital system, told The Associated Press. "And it's coming back and biting us, quite frankly."

Despite these warnings, the Trump Administration has announced plans to stop funding 13 coronavirus testing sites across the country, including seven in Texas, on June 30. Four of the seven Texas sites are in Houston and surrounding Harris County.

The cause of the resurgence in COVID-19 cases appears to be states re-opening public contacts too soon. In contrast, Black Lives Matter protests in which hundreds of United Methodists have participated are not the cause of the new coronavirus surge. If anything, social distancing measures actually increased because of the protests, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. The agency looked at some 300 cities where protests occurred and found no evidence of COVID-19 increases linked to the demonstrations.

In total, the United States has had more than 2.3 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 121,000 deaths. With about 4% of the world’s population, the United States has had about 25% of the world’s deaths from Covid-19.

Religion News Service’s article, “Survey: Most Americans aren't comfortable going back to religious services”, reported that  the American Enterprise Institute survey showed 64% of Americans were “somewhat uncomfortable” or “very uncomfortable” about the possibility of attending in-person worship. An example of the impact on The United Methodist Church from the COVID-19 resurgence was expressed poignantly this week in a letter from Bishop Bob Hoshibata to the Desert Southwest Annual Conference, encompassing Arizona and part of Nevada:

“Fully knowing that we are weary of the weeks of separation and suspension of in-person worship and other gatherings, this update is being sent with hope that we will not be lulled into thinking that God has abandoned us. We may be growing weary of the restraints to our usual life mandated by the restrictions and actions that are being required of us. Each of us has a critical part in the mitigation of the spread of COVID-19. Please follow the guidelines for safety precautions which include wearing a face mask, social distancing, frequent hand washing, staying at home if you are not feeling well, and cleaning and disinfecting. As the Coronavirus continues to spread in the Desert Southwest Conference, we must all be part of the solution.

“Please remember that in the ‘Resource for Church Opening,’ on our DSC website, Phase 1 begins when state and local officials have reported a 14-day downward trend of cases, hospitals are treating patients without crisis care, and there is a robust testing program in place, including antibody testing. We are not yet there. In fact, in the last two weeks, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cases of infections which has resulted in urgency about the continuing spread of the Coronavirus and serious concern about the availability of hospital beds to accommodate additional COVID patients. Based on available statistics, we are not yet ready to begin Phase 1 of the Re-Opening Plan.”

Bishop Hoshibata said the conference is allowing for three exceptions to the suspension of in-person gatherings:

  • Worship preparations, live streaming or recording in the church building, with no more than 5 persons present at the same time in the same space and observing all safety precautions;
  • Food pantries and clothing centers responding to community needs may resume following strict no-contact safety guidelines.
  • Child care and pre-schools may reopen following the church’s reopening plan and CDC, state and local guidelines.

“Other than these exceptions, as we continue to wait for a pattern of decline in infections and deaths, our Desert Southwest Conference United Methodist Churches must continue to suspend in-person worship and group gatherings of any size, except for those churches that have received permission for the three exceptions mentioned above,” Bishop Hoshibata wrote.

Conference sessions going virtual

Joining the ranks of her episcopal colleagues, Bishop Peggy A. Johnson announced this week that the 2020 Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference session will be held virtually in October. She writes: “The continual rise in COVID 19 cases, the threat of a second wave in the fall, the age of most of our constituents, and the budgetary challenges we are facing has led me to this decision.”

Meanwhile, Northern Illinois Conference will hold its Clergy Session June 29 from 10 am – 12 noon via a Zoom video conference meeting. The 2020 Northern Illinois Annual Conference session will be held virtually Saturday, November 14, 2020. “The AC Worship Committee is evaluating new and creative ways to hold the opening, memorial, retirement and closing services. Ordination service plans are under review,” said the conference newsletter.

Leaders: Broken relationship with nature caused pandemic

Leaders of three international organizations, the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International, said this week that the coronavirus pandemic and others like it are the result of “humanity’s destruction of nature,” according to an article in The Guardian, “Coronavirus is an SOS: Mend our broken relationship with nature, says UN and WHO.

Citing “the illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade as well as the devastation of forests and other wild places as “the driving forces behind the increasing number of diseases leaping from wildlife to humans, … the organizations are calling for a green and healthy recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.”  

COVID-19 threat to voting

The General Board of Church and Society is raising concerns about whether public officials will use the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to curtail voting in fall elections. Church and Societ will hold a panel discussion at 7 p.m. EDT June 30 on a new documentary, “Suppressed: The Fight to Vote.” The film discussion will include reflections from the film director Robert Greenwald, faith leaders from Ohio and Florida, and a call to action.

“The United Methodist tradition has had a longstanding commitment to freeand fair elections,” the agency said in a press release.

Participants are asked to watch the 37-minute film in advance of the panel discussion. Register for the webinar here.

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.