A Michigan pastor encouraged churchgoers to get infected with COVID and "get it over with" - saying the virus hadn't killed anyone, the Holland Sentinel reported.
Bart Spencer, senior pastor at the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Holland, attracted backlash for his "irresponsible" remarks made mid-November when he told his congregation to intentionally contract the virus.
"COVID, it's all good. Many people have had COVID, none have died yet. It's OK. Get it, get it over with, press on," the Holland Sentinel quoted the pastor as saying. He made the remarks as an offhand comment after he started to cough while delivering his sermon.
While some church members wear them, the Lighthouse Baptist doesn't encourage face masks and has held attended services since spring - ignoring social distancing protocols.
Spencer told his congregation that face coverings and physical distancing are choices "they can make for themselves."
The number of confirmed COVID infections in Michigan have risen to about 390,000 as of Friday - including 9,660 deaths, local health authorities said.
The pastor told the newspaper he and several members of his family had been infected with COVID and survived. His sermon was posted on the church's website and shared on social media. "I had no intention of posting, but I could not believe what I just saw and heard," former congregant Miguel Medina told the Sentinel.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "masks offer some protection and are also intended to protect those around you, in case you're unknowingly infected with the virus," Business Insider reports.
