74 Infected At Oregon Church That Sued Governor To Overturn Lockdown, Pastor And Wife Both Hospitalized

The Salem Statesman Journal reports:

At least 74 people associated with Peoples Church in Salem have contracted COVID-19, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Oregon health officials began investigating the outbreak on April 6. OHA did not release information about it until May 5. It’s now the state’s eighth-largest active workplace outbreak. The church, located at 4500 Lancaster Drive NE, has continued to hold in-person services and events, its website and Facebook page indicate.

In May 2020, Peoples Church joined nine other Oregon churches in a legal effort to overturn Gov. Kate Brown’s COVID-19 restrictions. The complaint, filed by California-based Pacific Justice Institute, argued that restrictions on churches violate constitutional protections for religious freedom. According to the church’s Facebook page, Pastor Scott Erickson and his wife, Bonnie, both were hospitalized with COVID-19 last month.

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Peoples Church in northeast Salem tied to one of Oregon’s largest Covid outbreaks https://t.co/AHm4hVjiud

— Salem Reporter (@SalemReporter) May 6, 2021