Staphorts church voluntarily limits attendance over Covid infections

Due to rapidly increasing coronavirus infections in Staphorst, the Reformed Church in the village will allow fewer people to attend church on Sunday. Not all pews will be used. Last Sunday, the church also kept a bench empty between two rows of churchgoers, elder Jan Talen confirmed reporting by De Stentor.

Talen sympathized with all sick people and pointed out that the church is trying everything to prevent infections. "Not everyone came to the services lately either. We had scaled down because of the significant number of infections. People also keep their distance when they are inside, and they are assigned a seat."

Public health institute RIVM reported 50 new coronavirus cases in Staphorst on Tuesday. The small village had the fifth most infections after the much larger municipalities of The Hague (136), Amsterdam (115), Rotterdam (92), and Apeldoorn. The predominantly Reformed municipality in Overijssel, where almost half of the inhabitants aren't vaccinated against the coronavirus, is relatively the largest hotspot in our country. Other municipalities in the Bible Belt also recorded many positive tests, such as Neder-Betuwe (40), Ede (38), Barneveld (28), and Hoeksche Waard (23).