'We did want to create as safe an environment as possible,' a church representative said.
Under the local county's current mandate, social distancing precautions and mask-wearing are required when indoors. Despite the precautions taken by the church, some parents were angered that such an activity would be held during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly as Florida continues to be one of the hardest hit states.
"I'm just really appalled. We're in the middle of a pandemic," Jessica Patterson, a parent who alerted local officials after seeing photos of the event, told the"It's sad to me that parents are sending their kids to this, and that the leaders of the church would host this event," she said."We're doing all we can to not spread the virus. If this kind of thing keeps happening, I don't know when it's going to end.
Florida has recorded the second-highest number of infections of any state, with nearly 580,000 reported cases as of Tuesday, according to a tracker by. The southern state has also seen the third-highest number of new infections over the past seven days, with a total of more than 39,000 in that time. Since the start of the pandemic, Florida has counted more than 9,700 deaths.
Manatee County, where Braden is located, has had a sizable outbreak, with a total of 9,891 confirmed infections, including more than 500 in the past week. In total, 247 people have died in the county due to COVID-19, with 18 of those deaths having occurred over the last seven days. Churches have become hotspots for outbreaks in several parts of the country, as well as internationally. South Korea, which has done relatively well in managing its outbreak, has seen a recent spike in new infections, which have been largely linked to church services. In one outbreak, more than 400 cases were linked to the large church led by Reverend Jun Kwang-hun in Seoul. The pastor has also been infected with COVID-19.
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