Four family members infected after a bishop dies of coronavirus in Virginia

Four relatives of a Virginia bishop have tested positive for coronavirus days after he died from the same infection.

Bishop Gerald Glenn of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Chesterfield tested positive for coronavirus after holding services last month.

“I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus,” he told worshipers during the sermon on March 22, saying that he was not afraid of death.

His church announced his death Sunday.

His daughter, Mar-Gerie Crawley, told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Wednesday night that they’ve not been able to mourn the family patriarch because they’ve been busy caring for sick relatives. She’s one of four family members who’ve tested positive for coronavirus, including her husband, her mother and her sister.

She defended her father’s decision to hold services, saying he’s received unfair criticism that he did not care about the virus. He took the necessary precautions to ensure social distancing, she said, and he did it to give churchgoers hope as the pandemic ravaged nations worldwide.

“When he decided to have services, he was very clear in posting signs and having hand sanitizer, and wearing gloves and not congregating with people after service, during service,” Crawley said. “People were asked to sit six feet apart. Family members sat together. That’s it. After service, there was no talking and hanging around. Everyone left.”

Her father decided to hold the service to comfort anxious churchgoers, she said.

“He … wanted to give them a message of hope that it’s OK that this virus is out there. God is out there, too, and we believe that God will protect us.”

Glenn held the service despite warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to avoid mass gatherings and maintain social distancing.

A day after his service, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam issued his executive order banning all public and private gatherings of 10 people or more.

Glenn’s daughter posted a video on April 4 announcing that both he and his wife, Marcietia Glenn, had tested positive for coronavirus.