SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — County public health officials are urging locals who attended indoor services and events at a Kearny Mesa church to quarantine for two weeks after a COVID-19 outbreak linked to the location.
The county says anyone who attended Awaken Church at 7620 Balboa Avenue between Nov. 15 and 22 should quarantine for 14 days after their last date of visiting the church and watch for coronavirus symptoms.
Officials added that anyone who was at the church within that time frame should get tested for the virus.
Generally, the county does not reveal the locations of community outbreaks and has long advocated against the practice. In this instance, public health officials say it's necessary to, "prevent the spread and occurrence of additional cases," and that, "in this case, public health has been unable to identify and notify all of those exposed."
In a letter to the church, the county said while the community outbreak linked to the church doesn't mean that anyone contracted COVID-19 at the location, everyone who has attended events at the location should quarantine for 14 days.
A community outbreak is three or more COVID-19 cases from different households within two weeks at one location.
"You should review your current plans to prevent COVID-19 at your location and determine if there are actions that you can take to reduce the likelihood that your staff, customers, or visitors could contract this infection," the letter said.
The county added that anyone who has attended the church, as well as the public in general, should continue to wear face coverings, practice social distancing, and avoid large gatherings.
With the exception of two days, San Diego County has seen new COVID-19 cases spike to more than 1,000 cases a day over the last week. Saturday's update set another daily record with 1,859 new COVID-19 cases reported — a 14% positivity rate out of 12,932 tests.
According to the county's data on Saturday, there were 86 active community outbreaks.