A small independent church in Singapore, thought to be the source of a new coronavirus cluster, has been forced to cancel meetings and services for at least two weeks and was disinfecting its premises, a spokesman said on Feb. 9.
Five coronavirus cases linked to The Life Church and Missions were reported in the city state last week.
“When the church got to know of the first case on Feb. 7, right on the day itself, we engaged a professional cleaning company to disinfect our entire premises,” CNA quoted the spokesperson as saying.
The five include a married couple from Wuhan in China, the source of the deadly outbreak that has killed at least 910 people around the world as of Feb. 9, as well as three Singaporeans.
All five had visited the church, according to the city state’s Ministry of Health.
The Chinese couple, both 56, visited the church after arriving in Singapore on Jan. 19, a ministry official said.
One 39-year-old Singaporean woman had returned from a week-long trip to Malaysia on Jan. 29, while the other two locals had not left the country, but had been to The Life Church and Missions, the official added.,
The church said it shut its doors on Feb. 7 premises and was forced to livestream its Sunday service to its congregation. It was also cooperating with authorities in tracing churchgoers so they can be screened for the virus.
It also said when the church reopens it would conduct temperature screening of worshippers and provide masks in accordance with a health ministry advisory.
