As Reformed Presbyterians seek to honor God and love others amidst the recently declared pandemic, some specific resources are available.
The 2008 Synod adopted a paper on pandemic flu that gives many relevant suggestions for the current context. Dr. Jonathan Adams, physician for Penn State Health Medical Group and associate professor of community and family medicine, chaired the committee that wrote the report. He is an elder at State College, Pa., Reformed Presbyterian Church.
You can find that report and paper in its entirety here.
Dr. Adams notes that the general advice and conclusions of that paper have held up in the current pandemic, with the following particulars:
—The incubation period for COVID-19 seems to be up to 2 weeks after exposure,
—The number of other people infected by each infected individual is higher on average compared to seasonal influenza, currently estimated at 2.2 vs.1.3; and
—The mortality rate is higher than the usual flu, estimated at 2.3% or so for COVID-19 vs. roughly a 0.1% fatality rate on average for seasonal influenza. (Note that these are early statistics and subject to change. Some health experts expect the mortality rate for COVID-19 to be around 1.0%.)
Dr. Adams also commends to churches the counsel of the Centers for Disease Control for faith-based and community organizations:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/index.html
He encourages sessions to publicly encourage the following:
Staying home if sick (Sermon Audio should be very useful here; congregations without it would be well advised if financially able to enroll in it),
The importance of frequent handwashing with soap and water for 20 seconds or using hand sanitizer if that is not available,
Not shaking hands before/after the service for the duration of the outbreak,
Learning to not touch one’s face,
Coughing into one’s elbow if one needs to cough/sneeze,
Immediately removing oneself from a worship if one becomes suddenly ill.
The blog GentleReformation.com also has posts by Reformed Presbyterians on how to honor Christ amidst this pandemic.
—Drew Gordon, editor
Reformed Presbyterian Witness
Rpwitness.org