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Pastor tests positive for coronavirus after church service in Jaffna

File photograph: A service at the Philadelphia Missionary Church

Authorities in Jaffna have urged worshippers who attended a service at the Philadelphia Missionary Church to immediately self-quarantine, after it was reported that the senior pastor has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus infection.

Governor of the Northern Province P S M Charles told EconomyNext that around 150 people are thought to have attended the service, at the church in Ariyalai, Jaffna.

After the service, the pastor had “hugged and blessed all the people who were there,” Charles told EconomyNext, before he flew to Switzerland where he is based.

At least three people who attended the service have been admitted to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital with symptoms.

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