Megan Woodham is no stranger to germs. In the summer of 2019, a highly contagious “super virus” swept through her church’s Vacation Bible School (VBS), taking down kids, teens and adults alike — even sending some adults to the hospital.
“On Tuesday night, we started getting messages from teachers saying they weren’t going to be able to make it the next day,” said Woodham, children’s ministry director at First Baptist Church, Prattville. “By the time we got up Wednesday morning, we were getting messages everywhere, even on social media, and people calling the church.”
They canceled the rest of VBS. And when it was all said and done, around 100 people got the highly contagious stomach virus, which the health department said could be passed by contact, in the air, even through food that an infected person had touched.
“It was totally random, totally out of our control,” Woodham said. “We had no precedent set for how we would handle it.”
But now they do. And as worries over the coronavirus (COVID-19) increase across the world, Woodham said they’re doing things to be watchful at the church and its Mom’s Day Out, preschool and kindergarten programs.
“We’re communicating to people that we are mindful of this, we’re aware of this but we’re not afraid of this,” she said. “It’s just a matter of training our people and staff to be diligent in the disinfecting and cleaning process.”
Many churches around the state are working to be proactive also — to clean well and communicate their plans with their members.
Stuart Frandsen — owner of Alabama Bio-Clean, a company that provides decontamination and deodorization services for commercial, residential, and government facilities — said the COVID-19 pandemic “is going to change people’s views on what it means to be a good church congregant.”
“We know that this is going to be a contact and droplet precaution,” said Frandsen, who is also vice president of the American Bio Recovery Association. “Passing the plate, taking communion — there’s a lot of contact. If you’re sick, if you have a slight fever, you are shedding a virus. Stay home.”
How churches can prepare
But in the event your church does welcome in someone who’s a carrier, here are some ways Frandsen said your church can be prepared:
*Get things as clean as you can ahead of time.
First, know that there is a distinction between cleaning and disinfecting. Cleaning refers to the removal of germs, dirt and impurities from surfaces. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cleaning does not kill germs, but by removing them, it lowers their numbers and the risk of spreading infection. But cleaning is important, Frandsen said.
“Right now, it’s really important that facilities step up their cleaning,” Frandsen said.
The dirtier the surface — or greater the “soil load,” as he called it — the harder it is to disinfect. If you keep things clean daily, disinfecting will be more effective. The CDC recommends doing that with soap and water before disinfecting.
“Perform top-down cleaning now, and especially begin dusting every day so those contaminants aren’t present,” he said.
It would also be smart to clean your carpets now and change your air filters, Frandsen said.
*Switch cleaning rags often.
“Depending on how dirty the surface is, I may be changing out that microfiber rag every four to 12 square feet, especially when it comes to bathrooms,” Frandsen said, adding that bathrooms especially should be cleaned at least once a day.
*Make sure you’re using the right chemicals.
Disinfecting refers to using chemicals to kill germs on surfaces. This process does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs, but by killing germs on a surface after cleaning, it can further lower the risk of spreading infection, the CDC says. With that in mind, evaluate the cleaners and cleaner disinfectants that you use. Although the EPA has not done testing yet for COVID-19, they do have a general guideline — the product needs to be able to kill a non-enveloped virus that is both small and large.
For disinfection, the CDC recommends diluted household bleach solutions of 1/3 cup of bleach per gallon of water (or 4 teaspoons of bleach per quart of water) or alcohol solutions with at least 70% alcohol. The CDC says most common EPA-registered household disinfectants also should be effective.
Cut down on touching
Churches are also trying to prevent the virus’ spread with simple changes like cutting out the handshaking that usually happens during the fellowship or greeting time in their services.
And individuals are encouraged to practice good personal hygiene, like frequent handwashing and disinfecting and keeping a greater-than-usual distance from other people. This can help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Woodham said she is hoping that this is all “a distant memory soon.” But the situation is ever changing. If you end up with coronavirus at your church, you may want a company like Frandsen’s to come in and help you reset.
Before the COVID-19 scare is over, churches may end up facing bigger questions — such as whether to meet at all. Some states are already asking that question. In Kentucky, a state with some confirmed cases of COVID-19, Gov. Andy Beshear recommended March 11 that churches cancel their weekend services. Kentucky Baptist Convention Executive Director-Treasurer Todd Gray said congregations will probably take the governor’s request seriously but expects most churches to continue normal services as of now.
A statement the same day from the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) noted that for now, Alabama doesn’t have a concentration of coronavirus like other states or places in the world, but “that could change as we move forward.” Bobby DuBois, SBOM associate executive director, encouraged churches and individuals not to panic but to practice good hygiene and common sense and watch for recommendations from the national and state task forces.
Have a contingency plan
In a recent article, Thom S. Rainer, founder and CEO of Church Answers, wrote that churches also should be prepared to move to online Bible studies or services if gathering becomes impossible for a time.
“If your church does not offer the streaming of services on the church website, Facebook live, or some other means, now is the time to move in that direction,” Rainer wrote. “Make certain you can have digital services even if you can’t gather for a season.”
Woodham said for them, when the time came to make the decision to cancel the rest of the week of VBS after the stomach virus hit last year, they “just knew it was time.”
“Our entire maintenance team worked tirelessly to disinfect all the surfaces, but we still didn’t feel like it was enough to keep someone from getting it and starting it around again,” she said. “It broke our hearts — it’s our biggest evangelistic event of the year, and we love it. But we had to take care of people.”
They got no negative feedback from canceling, Woodham said.
“Everything we do, we want to be mindful of people and obviously do it in a way that would essentially share the gospel,” she said. “We want them to understand that any decisions we make are in the best interest of these people and their families. We assessed the situation with that in mind.”
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