Kalamazoo County church tied to large COVID outbreak

Kalamazoo County’s Radiant Church is the center of a spate of COVID-19 infections that has extended through four different counties in southwest Michigan and affected more than 50 people.

According to a private listserve message acquired by MLive, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is tracking more than 50 cases stemming from the church’s various campuses.

The church operates three different campuses in Kalamazoo County – in downtown Kalamazoo, Portage, and Richland. Infected people have been tracked to Calhoun, Allegan, and Barry counties in addition to Kalamazoo County.

After closing in March, the church reopened in July with limited capacity and sanitation measures. Prior to the pandemic, the church boasted attendance of more than 4,000 people.

According to a post on the church’s website dated October 9, the church has moved to all-virtual services for the near future after “several Radiant staff members display cold/flu like symptoms and/or test positive for COVID-19.”

You can read more on MLive.