Bath Seventh-Day Adventist Church issued the following announcement.
Division Response.
North American Division administration shares information on COVID-19 and Division response
March 12, 2020 | Columbia, Md. | By North American Division
On March 4, 2020, during the North American Division (NAD) staff monthly meeting, the NAD administration invited Tim Northrop, president of Adventist Risk Management (ARM), and Dr. Peter Landless, director of Health Ministries for the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, to present on what the church is doing regarding corona virus disease (COVID-19). They shared best practices on how to help prevent the spread of the virus, such as frequent hand washing, using hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available, not shaking hands, and regularly cleaning common areas with sanitizer. They also encouraged entities that meet with large numbers of people to consider alternative options in case the virus continues to spread. (Links to ARM resource materials and General Conference Health Ministries are below).
Ted NCWilson, president of the General Conference, in a March 2 statement to church leaders, responded to the growing health challenges caused by COVID-19. He wrote: “In recent days, the situation has been greatly accelerated by the identification of an increasing number of people with the virus in various parts of the world. This has resulted in governments and airlines restricting travel and activities .... A few weeks ago, we asked our world church to pray for this situation, especially in relation to China. I just asked the church to pray again. "
Wilson shared that questions have been raised about what may happen with the upcoming General Conference, scheduled for June 25 to July 4, 2020, in Indianapolis, Indiana, in light of the COVID-19 situation. .
"We will share with you at the spring meeting the possible recommended alternative plans. Pray that nothing of the kind is needed. God is in control. We certainly do not want to alarm or worry unnecessarily but we felt it was necessary to make a call to prayer and give a statement indicating that to date the plans for the General Conference in Indianapolis remain the same ... We put all of this in God's hands. "
The NAD administration is restricting international travel for its employees at this time. No one is authorized to travel to countries under travel ban or restriction (level 3 or higher) by the US government and federal health authorities. We recommend visiting the United States Department of State website for travel warnings and a list of countries under travel restriction (found below).
In a message to NAD employees, management said, "NAD is monitoring the situation on a daily basis to determine an ongoing response as warranted, striving to monitor circumstances with a balanced approach. We are following the recommendations of the administration of the General Conference and the Department of Health of the General Conference on these matters. "
Original source can be found here.
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