DioMO Deputation battles COVID while serving at GC80
The 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church took place in Baltimore, July 8-11, 2022. Get all the legislative news at Episcopal News Service.
As the 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church got underway in Baltimore, leaders emphasized that this was not going to be the convention anyone hoped for because of COVID-19 (see story, July 7). And perhaps no deputation felt the truth of that statement more than our own from the Diocese of Missouri.
As of July 11, the Diocese of Missouri deputation has three confirmed cases of COVID-19, including our bishop. The Rev. Tamsen Whistler tested positive Saturday morning, July 9; Betty Bowersox tested positive Sunday morning, July 10; and the Rt. Rev. Deon Johnson tested positive Sunday evening, July 10.
Tamsen reported significant cold-like symptoms; Betty and our bishop both reported light cold-like symptoms. As convention protocols required, all who tested positive were quarantined to their hotel rooms and spent the remainder of their convention time monitoring the legislative action online through the Episcopal Church’s Media Hub.
Bishop Deon coordinated alternate deputies to fill in on the floor for our sick deputies and the bishop was able to vote remotely, so the Missouri deputation continued to fully function throughout the convention. All members of our deputation, and everyone at GC80, tested daily and were required to report any positive results.
We are grateful for the care of Dr. Rodney Coldren, who was hired to serve as medical expert for this General Convention. He was in direct contact with our deputies and our bishop. He prescribed and even picked up medicine for one of our deputies. Bishop Deon Johnson credits the safety protocols put in place at GC80 for catching the cases early.
On the final day of GC80 (Monday, July 11), Dr. Coldren said there were a total of 26 COVID cases reported during Convention. He said they had expected at least 76 cases and expressed his gratitude to all deputies for following the COVID protocols to prevent additional cases (see video below). He also reminded the deputies that they could still contract the virus from that final day of convention and should be vigilant and monitor for possible symptoms for the next five days.
The Diocese will, of course, do all we can to ensure the health and safety as all recover from the virus.
Get more news about GC80, including updates from our DioMO deputies, on the General Convention page of our website.
*This story was updated July 12 to include the names of our deputies who contracted COVID. Their names were originally withheld at their request.
Tags: News / General Convention