Pastor posts apology video after his church becomes hot spot for coronavirus: 'Masks must be considered by everyone'

A Tennessee pastor is expressing regret to his congregation after his church became a hotspot for coronavirus, saying that he wishes he encouraged people to wear masks during church functions, The Christian Post reports.

A 20-minute video posted on Facebook last Thursday shows Pastor Kevin Page expressing deep “regret” and taking responsibility for his decision to resume indoor services in late May.

“Somehow the virus made it into the choir. Temperatures were taken that morning, yet it still slipped through,” Page said of a service that took place on Father’s Day.

“We had heard a few days prior that there was an uptick in the county, but with the precautions that we had been taking, along with the fact that we knew of no one that had been diagnosed with the virus, we honestly believed that we were okay. Little did I know, it was invading that morning," he said.

While the number of coronavirus cases in the church started out at 12, Page says the spread has since spiraled out of control.

“Some people are going to think that I am hiding or hiding numbers. The truth of the matter is, we knew we had 12 confirmed,” he said. “Then we knew that we had several more confirmed even after that. Then it began to roll out and I don't honestly know how many we have.”

“We don’t know how many actually contracted the virus at Westmore,” Page continued. “You can assume or people can assume. We have had some of our own people who have contracted it and said, ‘I really don’t know if I contracted it at Westmore. I was in such and such a place.’ We don’t know exactly. We know there are a lot of people and too many people.”

Watch his full video below: