Missionaries, spreading the....

[master_dc]

I hope the saying is true, there is no such thing as bad press.

Missionaries are now responsible for spreading covid on an island that had zero cases. Kiribati.

Well, the AP got the name of the church correct, so that is a positive.

*** Fixed. Not sure why the other link went bad***

[Dr. Shades]

The link doesn't work.

Please tell us the name of the island.

[master_dc]

That link went dead very quickly, I linked it to the AP website now. Hopefully it stays up. And from the article, this may not be the first time missionaries are the source of an outbreak.

[Failed Prophecy]

Uh, they followed all precautions. They sidestepped nothing. Unless the island was fine with cutting off all contact with the rest of the world, it was probably going to happen by some means. Why is this even news?

[Marcus]

Uh, they followed all precautions. They sidestepped nothing. Unless the island was fine with cutting off all contact with the rest of the world, it was probably going to happen by some means. Why is this even news?

If it were a random group of people all separately following the repeated testing and preventive quarantining, it still would be odd that 2/3 of the passengers stepped off the plane and tested positive. It would be interesting to get more information though. It was a chartered flight by a single group, and the way I read about the repeated testing and quarantining it seemed only one group was giving the tests to the whole group on the same days and arranging their quarantining together. It's more likely something went wrong and all precautions were NOT taken, accidentally or otherwise.

I can't find any further information, which seems surprising, unless my theory is correct about the possible errors. It wouldn't be surprising if the lds church didn't want that talked about.

[master_dc]

Uh, they followed all precautions. They sidestepped nothing. Unless the island was fine with cutting off all contact with the rest of the world, it was probably going to happen by some means. Why is this even news?

Well, it doesn't really sound like they "sidestepped nothing." That is your interpretation of the outcome. We don't know what they did or did not do. Is there proof that all the missionaries are/were vaccinated? Did any receive religious exemptions? What was their quarantining process? I know, from personal experience, the church is more than happy to ignore laws and policies that prevent missionaries from fulfilling their callings. Not saying the church did any of that, but the proof is in the outbreak. It could have been a flight attendant. But the fact is, Kiribati had their first outbreak from this flight. Not the best PR, regardless of what the truth is.

I guess it is news because of satan?

[Res Ipsa]

Blame game aside, although it likely was inevitable, it's sad news all the same.

I think this would make an interesting case study, and I hope some eager young Space Cadet err Epidemiologist writes a paper on it. I think there's enough evidence to figure out the history, although its not in the article.

My Twitter feed has been jammed with stories of people, especially health care workers, who were extremely careful and ended up being infected with Omicron. I think the precautions as described in the article would have been effective for Original through Delta, but Omicron is a beast when it comes to transmission. Whether it technically qualifies as airborne, it spreads like it's airborne. If serious consideration wasn't given to airflow when the quarantine facilities were set up, one case could spread really fast.

In terms of evidence, the vials from positive tests could be sent to Nextstrain or a similar organization to be organized into a family tree. Scientists are getting a pretty good handle on the infections periods before and after symptoms appear. Likewise, the periods of time during an infection when the various tests are effective are becoming better known. I'm curious as to who all quarantined. The pilot? Flight crew? Anyone else who came in contact with the plane? Also, did anyone not in quarantine have any contact with those in quarantine during quarantine. We're those who administered the tests quarantined, or did they come and go? Any other health care providers? Was the quarantine in a single building, like a hotel or motel? Did it have shared ventilation with spaces where there were non-quarantined people? Lots of possible routes into and out of the group of travelers, but it sounds like a puzzle that could be solved with the available information. And it might be helpful for other countries that are using quarantines.

[Res Ipsa]

Uh, they followed all precautions. They sidestepped nothing. Unless the island was fine with cutting off all contact with the rest of the world, it was probably going to happen by some means. Why is this even news?

Well, it doesn't really sound like they "sidestepped nothing." That is your interpretation of the outcome. We don't know what they did or did not do. Is there proof that all the missionaries are/were vaccinated? Did any receive religious exemptions? What was their quarantining process? I know, from personal experience, the church is more than happy to ignore laws and policies that prevent missionaries from fulfilling their callings. Not saying the church did any of that, but the proof is in the outbreak. It could have been a flight attendant. But the fact is, Kiribati had their first outbreak from this flight. Not the best PR, regardless of what the truth is.

I guess it is news because of satan?

Frankly, other than the residents of Kiribati, any others who became infected, and a handful of individuals who delight in throwing rocks at the Mormon church, I don't think anyone considers this any kind of PR about the church. Americans in particular have been so stupid about this pandemic that they're hardly in a position to throw stones from their glass houses.

[master_dc]

All I know is that this situation is not surprising to me. I have traveled during the past two years, many of my colleagues have as well. I do not work remotely, have been around very large groups of people. A few minor outbreaks occurred before the vaccine rollout. Omicron has infected otherwise cautious people. I am by no means avoiding society, have kids in school, meet up with friends, etc. The most concerned I have been is when I attended a funeral at an LDS chapel, and that sentiment is shared by many stalwart members I know.

I agree, most of this world does not care about this piece of news, but it did make the front page of yahoo for a time. For a Church that is adamant about the proper use of their name, this has to hurt. The one positive is that 99% of readers of the article probably did not make the connection to the Mormons.

This is just yet another scenario when the protection that members believe they enjoy is proven to be a placebo. My favorite one is that my in-laws ward had an outbreak of norovirus, caused by the priests not washing their hands and preparing the sacrament (with fecal matter on their hands). A member of the ward was able to track it because almost exactly half of the ward got sick following that service. My mother-in-law didn't believe it was possible because a blessing was said over the bread.

[IHAQ]

Earlier this month, a plane, chartered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and carrying mostly former missionaries, inadvertently brought the first cluster of COVID-19 cases to Kiribati, an island nation between Hawaii and Australia.

Shortly after the pandemic began in 2020, Kiribati had closed its borders — even to its own citizens living abroad, including full-time Latter-day Saint missionaries, who typically serve between 18 months and two years.

Some of those on the flight had been away for more than 3½ years, church spokesperson Sam Penrod told the Deseret News.

The 54 passengers (38 of them missionaries returning home) arrived Jan. 14 on the plane from Fiji, and 36 of them tested positive for the virus.

https://www.msn.com/en-US/news/us/lds-c ... ar-AAT7FMN

If only they had prayed about the journey…