A Los Angeles megachurch is hitting back against the media for portraying it as a breeding ground for the coronavirus, arguing the outlets are “grossly misleading” the public as only three people were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19.
“Three very mild positive tests among more than 7,000 people is hardly news. 0.04% is not an ‘outbreak.’ The LA Times and others’ grossly misleading and fear-mongering headlines aim to mischaracterize Grace Community Church as irresponsible and a superspreader,” Grace Community Church attorney Jenna Ellis said.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health also reported that only three cases are confirmed among those associated with the church.
The church opened in defiance of California coronavirus lockdown orders earlier this year. A judge is currently withholding a decision on whether the church and its pastor, John MacArthur, should be held in contempt for continuing services.
Ellis’s comments come after the Los Angeles Times ran a headline saying, “Coronavirus outbreak strikes L.A. megachurch that defied public health orders.”
Another Los Angeles-area outlet, KTLA, published a similar headline, reading, “Coronavirus outbreak strikes defiant Sun Valley megachurch that held indoor services despite public health orders.”
“It has never been the Church’s position that it is only safe to hold services if no one ever tests positive, or for example, if no one ever gets the flu during flu season. Our position has been that LA County shutting down churches indefinitely amid a virus with a 99.98% survival rate, especially when state-preferred businesses are open and protests are held without restriction, is unconstitutional and harmful to the free exercise of religion,” Ellis said.
Places of worship in California are required to report to the Department of Public Health when three people or more test positive for the virus within a 14-day period. The department would then determine if there is an outbreak and how to go forward.
