67 churchgoers infected with Covid-19 after gathering in Bloemfontein

67 members of a church congregation have tested positive for Covid-19 – They had attended a gathering in Bloemfontein where 5 overseas tourists were infected – The Department of Health is tracking down the people who came into contact with the 67

A church congregation of 859 people has reported that 67 of its members have tested positive for the coronavirus. The church in Bloemfontein was visited by 5 people overseas who were infected with the virus. Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize revealed on the 20th of March that all 5 of the overseas visitors had tested positive for Covid-19.

305 additional people have been tested from the church. Among the 67 infected are Kenneth Meshoe, leader of the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), Steve Swart who is a member of parliament and a member of ACDP, the preacher Angus Buchan and his wife. Mkhize said that not all the people who attended the event, Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, held at the Divine Restoration Ministries in Bloemfontein, Free State had been tracked down. The Minister of Health urged all those who attended the event to report to the department of health to be tested.

The majority of the 61 patients [in the Free State] come from the church meeting,” Mkhize said. “Church leaders who attended the meeting put their congregation in contact with the virus,” he said. Albert Veksler, the Israeli director of the event, said that it was a ‘victory’ that they had managed to hold the event despite the virus.

“The fact that we gathered in spite of the [virus] distraction is already a great victory,” said Veksler told online religious news platform GatewayNews. The department of health are tracking down all the people who came into contact with the 67 infected churchgoers. “We have now reached about 973 contacts of whom 773 are asymptomatic while 200 are symptomatic with 67 of these being positive,” said Mvambi