Outbreak at northeast Calgary church as 57 cases reported, parishioners asked to get tested

Anyone who attended the Calgary Kidanemehret Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church in recent weeks is being asked to get tested for COVID-19.

Calgary — Children who attended an Ethiopian Orthodox church in northeast Calgary in the last two weeks are being asked to stay home from school when classes resume following reports of an outbreak.

And anyone who attended the Calgary Kidanemhret Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in the last two weeks should get tested for COVID-19 and self-isolate if they have symptoms, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health said Monday.

A total of 57 confirmed cases were reported in recent days.

"While we don't know yet if all who attended this church are close contacts, the case numbers we have seen to date are raising concerns that there could be more cases and we want those in this community to have this information," said Hinshaw.

"As a precaution, we are making this request regarding children staying home from school to give our public health teams time to do the investigation and provide clarity to the congregation. It is critical, as always, that members of this church be supported and not stigmatized."

Other reported outbreaks have also grown.

On Friday, officials reported 38 cases at the Harmony Beef facility in Balzac, just north of Calgary, and by Monday, that had grown to 66 cases.

A total of 11 cases were reported at a Lilydale chicken plant in Calgary last week, which had risen to 24 cases on Monday.

There were 426 new cases of COVID-19 identified over the weekend: 133 on Friday, 184 on Saturday and 109 on Sunday. There are 44 people in hospital with eight of those in ICU.