Transmission Analysis of COVID-19 Outbreaks Associated with Places of Worship, Arkansas, May 2020–December 2020

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe a statewide COVID-19 transmission involving places of worship (POWs) during the early phase of the pandemic. During the period of May 2020–December 2020, this analysis evaluated COVID-19 cases in Arkansas reported in REDCap for overall cases associated with POWs, cluster detection, and network analysis of one POW utilizing Microbetrace. A total of 9904 COVID-19 cases reported attending an in-person POW service during the early phase of the pandemic with 353 probable POW-associated clusters identified. Network analysis for ‘POW A’ showed at least 60 COVID-19 cases were traced to at least 4 different settings. The pandemic gave an opportunity to observe and stress the importance of public health and POWs working closely together with a shared goal of facilitating worship in a manner that optimizes congregational and community safety during a public health emergency.