There is, in many instances, an overlooked danger with drive-in church:  if one family member who has Covid-19 unaware gets in a car with their family for drive-in church, then everyone in the car is likely nearly guaranteed to be infected with Covid-19 by that family member before closing prayer, likely a 99% risk in some scenarios even though no one leaves the car.

The one family member that is infected but unaware — without symptoms or with only very mild, unnoticed ones, for example — makes up a large portion of people with Covid-19, as up to half are asymptomatic.  It can take as many as 14 days or more after one becomes infected for a symptom to emerge (if ever).

The unaware family member may be “not very” contagious in most circumstances, but, even then, being with them in the small, confined space of a car cabin for such a long time, particularly a non-moving one, likely changes the equation to a near-guarantee of contagion for everyone else in the car in several common scenarios for drive-in church.  This is true, too, for other scenarios in which they spend a prolonged time in the car cabin.  The extent of asymptomatic contagiousness generally is an unknown and under investigation.

There is a very good chance the whole family avoids infection by that unaware member at home, even a family not engaging in extraordinary measures — like not engaging in constant social-distancing in-home.  Independent scientific studies by the Centers for Disease Control and others found just a 3.0 – 10.5% household secondary attack rate for Covid-19 symptomatic.  One found several household members “continuously exposed during … isolation of their household member with confirmed COVID-19” were not infected.

In-home presents risk, of course, but by no means is it inevitable that all family members will be infected in-home if one member is infected unaware and, often, no other family member will be infected.

The infected one may never become “contagious enough” to infect others in normal, periodic interactions; the rest of the family’s immune systems might be able to handle “lower amounts” of virus intake spread over time; a noticeable symptom might arise and the infected one can isolate before infecting others; etc.

Two Harvard professors and the chair of the engineering department at Portland State explain that in-home, it is “not as easy to spread COVID-19 from one person to another.  In the car, it’s a whole different ball game.”

This drive-in church peril is a danger for all.  Christian African-Americans are especially susceptible, though, because of the disproportionate spread and impact of Covid-19 in African-American communities and because of the great value they place on church, as discussed below.

Long, Continuous Time in a Non-Moving Car Can Make Catching the Virus Easy 

First, more on the danger.  The cabin of a non-moving car is a worst-case-type environment for virus transmission from one person to another — enclosed space, in spitting-distance, mouths aligned, tiny air-volume, breathing same air, sometimes air recirculating, low air-flow, closely surrounded by surfaces on which Covid-19 lives, little space for expelled virus droplets to disperse, immobilized people, and nowhere to escape virus droplets expelled by coughing, sneezing, singing, or otherwise.

The risk of infection in a car is a near guarantee, 99%, after just about 45-60 minutes of continuous time with a person already infected with the flu in some scenarios, per a peer-reviewed study by researchers and doctors at Queensland University of Technology.  The situations analyzed suggest outcomes for some common drive-in church scenarios.  Covid-19 appears as contagious as flu, and likely more so.  Some situations present lower risk, but the risk increases with more time in the car.

In contrast, the household transmission rate of Covid-19 of just 3.0 – 10.5% symptomatic, as reported in three early studies from the Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Health and Korean CDC, and World Health Organization, is much lower.

In other words, they found the vast majority of household members exposed to another with Covid-19 did not become infected and develop a symptom.  In-home can involve periodic exposures, allowing virus particles to land elsewhere or to die or fall to the ground before they are ingested or for immune systems to work, for example, such that a sufficient volume of virus particles is not ingested in a requisite time to give rise to infection.

African-American Christians:  More Likely to Go to Church … 

One reason African Americans are generally especially susceptible to this church-related danger is that they are, on average, more religious by many measures than others, per Pew Research, including more likely to go to church.

About half of black adults in the United States attend religious services at least once a week while about one-third of white adults do.  And 41% of black adults said their faith has grown stronger during this pandemic, more than twice of white adults.

…. and More Likely to Stay at Church 

The median length in historically black Protestant churches of just the sermon, at 54 minutes, is more than twice the average median for other categories of churches.

The more time in the car together, the higher the likelihood of virus transmission from one family member to another.  More time for Covid-19-particle build-up in a non-moving car, for coughs, sneezes, and singing droplets onto people when they cannot step away, for touching surfaces on which Covid-19 can live, etc.

Disproportionate Covid-19 Spread in African-American Communities

Another reason African Americans are more susceptible to this danger is the spread of Covid-19 in many African-American communities is disproportionately high. 

As of early May, in Alabama, nearly as many black people have tested positively for Covid-19 as white people, despite there being almost three times as many white people there.

In Tennessee, with white people outnumbering black people by over four to one, the confirmed infection rate for black persons is twice that of white persons, with racial data not reported for more than a third of its confirmed cases.  In Georgia, with white people outnumbering black people almost two to one, the number of confirmed cases for black people outnumber those for white people by about 30%. 

The more people with Covid-19 in a community, the more cars that will arrive at its drive-in church containing a person with Covid-19 unaware.

The more cars that arrive at drive-in church containing one person with Covid-19 unaware, the more cars will likely leave after closing prayer with everyone else in the car infected, when most or all of them stood a very good chance of remaining uninfected at home.

Disproportionate Covid-19 Deaths in African-American Communities

Hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19 among African-Americans are also disproportionately high.  The New York Times reports, “On April 6, Louisiana became one of the first states to release Covid-19 data by race: While making up 33 percent of the population, African-Americans accounted for 70 percent of the dead at that point. …”

“Areas with large populations of black people were revealed to have disproportionate, devastating death rates.  In Michigan, black people make up 14 percent of the population but 40 percent of the deaths. …  In Wisconsin, … 7 percent of the population but 33 percent of the deaths.  In Mississippi, … 38 percent of the population but 61 percent of the deaths. …,” per the Times.

Increased Danger of Covid-19 in African-American Communities Not Just to Elderly

Churches often serve older populations, at higher risk from Covid-19.

Deaths of children from Covid-19 has been relatively rare, but not unheard of — even in the United States — and hospitalization and development of severe disease (hypoxia) occurred in 5.6% of children in the largest review of children with it.

Among those the CDC states are at higher risk for severe illness from Covid-19 are those of all ages with “moderate to severe asthma.”  About twice as many black as white children have asthma.  Pre-pandemic, black children had a 500% higher death rate from asthma and a 250% higher hospitalization rate.  About 50% more black adults have asthma than white adults.  This is just an example.

Both hospitalization and dying from Covid-19 can involve tremendous discomfort and suffering.  Victims are often alone in the hospital, with families prohibited from visiting due to the contagious nature of Covid-19.

Government Allowing Does Not Mean It is Safe for Families

Churches, including white evangelical, mainline, and historically black, have held drive-in church despite stay-at-home orders.  Most governments do not prohibit them.

Some people confuse governments allowing something relative to Covid-19 with the government expressing it is safe.

Governments not prohibiting drive-in church does not mean it is safe for families.  Government orders in this time focus mainly on public-health concerns, social-distancing, and larger-scale transmission risks, not private-health concerns and inter-family risks.

That one family member might infect another is not generally a concern of the government for prohibitions.  Nor is it generally a public-health concern or an immediate, large-scale threat, as the threat is limited to those in the car.

Governments are looking at the overall situation, at best, including overall economics.  Politics is often involved, too.  And there are constitutional limits on governments.

Governments cannot be depended on to look out for particular communities or particular families.

Up to Church Leadership and Adults in the Family

It is up to church leadership and adults to protect their communities and families.

Last week, top national leaders of seven Black Church denominations joined civil rights leaders in “calling for people to stay home until it is safe in states whose governors are lifting shelter-in-place orders.”

Those leaders stated, “We regard this pandemic as a grave threat to the health and life of our people ….  [W]e encourage all Black churches and businesses to remain closed during this critical period.”

“The denominations and independent churches represented in this statement, which comprise a combined membership of more than 25 million people and more than 30,000 congregations, intend to remain closed and to continue to worship virtually, with the same dedication and love that we brought to the church. …

Our families need us. Our communities need us. We must continue to … tele-worship for however long it is necessary to do so.”

Practically, though, it is up to local church leaders and members and families to love and protect.

Rev. Darrell Hamilton of First Baptist Jamaica Plain urges that “churches must think critically about new and innovative ways to meet the needs of our congregations. We must envision a church that is unbounded by its walls, but we must do so in a way that does not jeopardize the health and safety of our congregation.”

Conclusion — Love is Patient, Always Protects …

We are all ready to get back to it immediately.  But we also have a calling relative to others, to love.  (John 13:34-35)

Drive-in church seemed like a good idea, an opportunity to assemble while social distancing.  But, alas, it presents a mortal danger, one to the entire family, during this time.  There are many unknowns with Covid-19 and the knowns, particularly for African-American communities, urge caution and care.

This does not mean we cannot worship together — online and telephone church at home offer substantial opportunities.

Being patient in this uncertain time and kindly cancelling, not holding, or not attending drive-in church is the only practical way of protecting fully against this threat to the family, leaving room for the reasonable hope uninfected family members avoid infection at home.

“Love is patient, love is kind. … It always protects, … always hopes ….” (1 Cor 13:4-7)

Prayers for all.

 

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Sources & Notes

For more information regarding the risks of drive-in church and additional sources used for this article, see Steve Gardner, “Drive-in Church Danger for Families:  Increased COVID-19 Risk,” AuthenticTheology.com (March 28, 2020).

Also see Steve Gardner, “10 Reasons Churches Should Not Have In-Person Services for a Time: COVID-19 and Flattening the Curve,” AuthenticTheology.com (March 14, 2020) (see text and Sources & Notes section).