The pastor of a church in Greers Ferry that has seen an outbreak of 34 cases of covid-19 -- and the death of one of its members -- said Tuesday that he's been communicating regularly with members who are sick and continue to struggle with the virus.
Mark Palenske, pastor of Greers Ferry First Assembly of God Church, has been sick with the virus for two weeks, along with his wife, Dena, who was hospitalized for several days last week because of the severity of her case.
"I'm on the phone 16 hours a day trying to handle all of this, talking to my own doctors and talking to everybody else," Mark Palenske said. "I just take care of the people that I know and go from there."
The outbreak at Greers Ferry shows how quickly the virus can spread in crowded spaces and underscores the risk of death. It also comes as President Donald Trump's administration weighs whether to extend its 15-day "social distancing" guidance that Americans avoid groups of 10 people or more and work from home when possible.
[CORONAVIRUS: Click here for our complete coverage » arkansasonline.com/coronavirus]
The closely knit church was stricken again Tuesday when it learned that 91-year-old Bill Barton, a member and door greeter at the church, died that morning at Conway Regional Medical Center. Barton is the second of two known deaths in Arkansas as a result of covid-19.
A 59-year-old Sherwood man who died earlier Tuesday morning is the first person in the state known to have died from the virus, according to the Pulaski County coroner's office. The man's name was not released, but the office said he said a "significant medical history" that included respiratory and cardiac problems.
As of 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, Cleburne County had 34 of the state's 232 confirmed positive cases. All five counties bordering Cleburne had at least one positive case, including Van Buren County, with seven, and Faulkner County, with 17.
Palenske described the timeline of events, beginning with the church's hosting of a three-day "Kids Crusade" event March 6-8 that was attended by many of the congregation's 80 members.
On March 11, three days after the last day of the gathering, Arkansas reported its first case of covid-19, and the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus to be a global pandemic.
That evening, Palenske was at the church for a youth group regularly held Wednesdays when he noticed a change in some members of the congregation.
"We began to see at that point that there were several who were sick," Palenske said. "Many had gone to the doctor, but all had tested negative for the flu. They were told it was a virus," but not a specific type of virus.
Later that night, Dena became sick. The next day, Mark Palenske fell ill.
The church had no scheduled events for that day. On the recommendation of a doctor, Palenske sent an email to the congregation March 13 announcing that services were canceled and that anyone feeling unwell should quarantine themselves until more information was available.
"We didn't wait to be positive to cancel services; we canceled them beforehand," Palenske said.
Because of a shortfall in covid-19 tests, public health officials have focused on administering the tests based on whether people show symptoms, have been in contact with others known to have tested positive, and are considered high-risk because of age or pre-existing medical conditions.
Despite being visibly sick, Palenske and his wife were only able to be tested after a series of events he declined to elaborate on but referred to as "miraculous."
"The medical world wasn't ready for this, and to their credit, they have stepped up since then," Palenske said.
The pastor's covid-19 test result was the first of the congregation's to come back as positive March 16. Dena later tested positive. Neither had traveled out of state recently. The last time either of them had left Arkansas, Mark Palenske said, was to visit San Antonio for the Christmas holiday in December.
Palenske remembered Barton as a friendly and beloved person at the church who loved greeting others on their way indoors. Barton did not have a lot of family, Palenske said, and the church was a source of community for the elderly man.
"No matter what age you were, he would make sure you understood that you [were] welcomed into the church with a big old smile on his face," he said.
Years ago, Barton tried retiring as a door greeter but missed serving in that role.
"It lasted for maybe 10, 11 months," Palenske recalled. "[Barton] came back and said: 'Yeah, that's no good. I've got to keep doing it.'
"We will miss him greatly," he said.
Greers Ferry, population 855, abuts Greers Ferry Lake, a reservoir sprung from a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam on the Little Red River. Located about 75 miles north of Little Rock, it is a popular tourist destination.
"It's not a very big community, but the church is a vital part of the community, and it's not just our church that we're conscious of," Palenske said.
As one example of community partnership, he noted that Greers Ferry First Assembly partners with other churches to run a food pantry.
"There are other wonderful churches there [in the Greers Ferry area] that we don't want to have impacted by this either," he added. "To be honest, we need for our community to work.
"We know we're on the shelf right now, but for the rest, we're rooting for them and we want them to continue to do what they need to do."
A Section on 03/25/2020