Hamilton public health investigating Mountain church in COVID-19 outbreak
Hamilton public health is investigating whether a central Mountain church currently in outbreak is compliant with COVID-19 regulations after it received complaints the parish hosted a large indoor service with dozens of people not wearing masks.
Nine parishioners at Kingdom Worship Centre have tested positive for novel coronavirus since the outbreak was declared on March 18.
Public health could not confirm if the cases - some of which have screened positive for a variant of concern - stem from the in-person service.
It's critical that community settings and all Hamiltonians continue to follow (public health) guidance and advice to protect community members from COVID-19," said public health spokesperson James Berry.
No tickets were issued to the Upper Wellington Street parish in relation to the service.
Berry said public health conducted a virtual assessment of the church's infection prevention and control measures on Monday. He did not disclose whether it was found to meet public health guidelines.
Screenshots of a now-deleted livestream of a one-hour long service at Kingdom Worship were shared with The Spectator by someone concerned about the situation.
The screenshots appear to be from a March 7 service livestreamed on a pastor's personal Facebook page.
They show a scarcely spaced-out crowd without personal protective equipment.
At least 35 people can be seen at the service in close contact. Some parishioners appear to be dancing hand-in-hand in the screenshots, with others crouching or kneeling in prayer with their heads bowed together.
Kingdom Worship said in a statement the church takes the threat of COVID-19 seriously and tries its best to follow public health guidelines.
We also try to balance the need to minister people who have mental health issues and spiritual needs," the church said in an email Wednesday. The service in question, our pastors and ministry team were praying for people who were struggling with anxiety, depression and some who were suicidal."
Public health said it is aware of the screenshots but could not provide additional information because the investigation is ongoing.
A city licensing officer had a conversation with the church and discussed the (service)," said Monica Ciriello, the city's licensing manager. We have no additional information to share at this time as this is still currently under investigation."
Under the province's pandemic response framework, religious ceremonies are limited to 30 per cent indoor capacity.
It's unclear whether Kingdom Worship met or exceeded that threshold during its service.
The city did not respond when asked if it could provide the church's total indoor capacity.
Peter Marshall, a senior pastor at Kingdom Worship, encouraged fellow parishioners to respect pandemic measures in a video posted to the church's YouTube channel last April titled Governmental Overreach and the Church."
I'm going to respect what the government is telling us, you should respect what the government is telling us. But when it comes to the church, there are certain operations and procedures that are higher than governmental standards that we must follow," said Marshall.
Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com