WILL BE CHARGED WITH A CLASS B
MISDEMEANOR FOR THE FIRST
OFFENSE AND A CLASS A
MISDEMEANOR EACH TIME AFTER
THAT.
***EMILY***
IN RECENT WEEKS, WE'VE TOLD
YOU ABOUT THOUSANDS OF
MISSIONARIES RETURNING HOME
EARLY DUE TO COVID-19 IMPACTING
THE WORLD.
WE KNOW TWO OF THOSE HAVE
TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19,
AND NOW,
ABC4'S HAILEY HENDRICKS
ASKS HEALTH AND CHURCH OFFICIALS
WHAT PRECAUTIONS THEY ARE
TAKING.
ON MARCH 30TH, THE CHURCH OF
JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY
SAINTS REPORTS TWO OF ITS
MISSIONARIES TESTED POSITIVE FOR
COVID-19. HOWEVER, ITS UNKNOWN
WHERE THE MISSIONARIES WERE
SERVING OR WHERE THEY ARE FROM.
IN AN EMAIL FROM A CHURCH
SPOKESMAN, HE SAYS PRIOR TO
RETURNING HOME, MISSIONARIES
UNDERGO A SELF-QUARANTINE, AND
FOLLOWING THEIR ARRIVAL HOME,
ARE ASKED TO SELF-QUARANTINE FOR
ANOTHER 14 DAYS.
BECAUSE COVID-19 SYMPTOMS MAY
NOT ARISE IMMEDIATELY, A PERSON
MAY NOT KNOW THEY HAVE THE
RESPIRATORY VIRUS, WITH THE
POTENTIAL TO INFECT MULTIPLE
PEOPLE.
ABC4 NEWS TOOK THIS QUESTION TO
DR. ANGELA DUNN, THE STATE'S
EPIDEMIOLOGIST, WHO SAYS
MISSIONARIES THAT CONTRACT THE
VIRUS ARE TREATED LIKE ANY OTHER
POSITIVE PATIENT.
Required by law to be
immediately reported to the
health department. Our health
department case investigators
contact that patient and we go
through a calendar from two days
before their symptoms started to
the present day, and talk
through with them everything
that happened in the day.
SHE SAYS THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT
THEN CONTACTS THOSE WHO HAD
CLOSE CONTACT WITH THE
INDIVIDUAL TESTING POSITIVEAS
THIS IS A STANDARD PUBLIC HEALTH
PRACTICE.
This is a standard public health
practice. We have very skilled
contact investigators who have
worked on these sorts of
investigations for diseases
beyond COVID-19.
AND AS FOR THE CHURCH'S
RESPONSIBILITY WITH TESTING
MISSIONARIES, WE REACHED OUT TO
CHURCH OFFICIALS WHO DECLINED
COMMENT.
