The COVID-19 outbreak at Mapleview Community Church in south-end Barrie was ended Monday by the local health unit following 28 positive cases throughout November.
On Tuesday morning, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit confirmed to BarrieToday that the outbreak is now over as of sometime late Monday. The church also announced the news on its Facebook page Monday evening.
The outbreak had been initially instated by the health unit Nov. 4.
The Mapleview Drive church resumed in-person services this past Sunday (Nov. 28) after the health unit had earlier advised them to shut down, starting Nov. 7.
In an email to church members on Thursday, Nov. 25, pastor Jay Davis asked the congregation to “walk with our staff and leadership team over the next several weeks as we put in place a number of additional safety measures for everyone coming through our doors.”
Sunday's service happened while the church was still in outbreak. Davis said the health unit was aware that in-person services were going ahead.
“They know we are meeting today," Davis told the congregation on Sunday. "They have cleared that. They haven’t said we can’t meet. There’s lots of misinformation going out on the news. I have had several requests from reporters and people, but a wise man once said nothing.”
Davis declined to comment on Tuesday when contacted by BarrieToday for this story, nor did he comment on a story published on Saturday about services going ahead.
On Tuesday, the local health unit confirmed to BarrieToday that the church, which is one of the largest in the city, had the go-ahead to reopen, but church officials were asked to do so in compliance with the requirements of the Reopening Ontario Act. They were also asked to adhere to the recently released letter of instruction for businesses and organizations, issued on Nov. 23, which references locations where religious services, rites or ceremonies take place.
BarrieToday asked the health unit how church services could resume while still in outbreak.
“In a situation like the church, it was closed to in-person activities therefore the break in transmission started the first day the church was closed (Nov. 1)," Heidi Pitfield, the health unit's infectious diseases program manager, wrote in an email. "While individuals may continue to develop symptoms or test positive, the last time anyone infectious was on site at the church was Oct. 31 and the last case linked to the outbreak was Nov. 16.
"Even though cases may have been reported in the past week, the individual’s onset of symptoms or test date (if no symptoms) are used to calculate when the outbreak is over," Pitfield added.
Davis told his congregation on Sunday that the outbreak is “almost 100 per cent resolved."
On Monday, the health unit had reported 29 positive cases linked to the outbreak, but that number was reduced to 28 on Tuesday. It's unclear why one case was removed, but health officials have modified case counts in the past if they move positive cases to other health unit jurisdictions. In the Mapleview Community Church outbreak, the health unit has said there were additional cases involving people who live outside the Simcoe-Muskoka region.
The health unit says outbreaks can be declared over if illnesses have returned to baseline levels, if identification can be determined when the last time was someone was exposed at the setting, and allowing enough time to pass to ensure no further transmission occurs at the setting, which is 14 days.
