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Second LDS missionary has COVID-19; church expects more cases to come

(Francisco Kjolseth | Tribune file photo) The sun rises on the Salt Lake Temple in 2019.

A second Latter-day Saint missionary has tested positive for COVID-19, and more young proselytizers are expected to do so.

On Monday, the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported that a female missionary in Australia has contracted the virus. She is self-isolating at home.

Last Friday, an elder serving in Mexico City became the faith’s first missionary to test positive. The young man, who is from Guatemala, was being treated for mild symptoms. He and his companion are in self-isolation.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic progresses throughout the world, we recognize that additional missionaries will unfortunately contract the virus,” church spokesman Daniel Woodruff wrote Monday in a news release. “... We are concerned about any missionary who contracts the virus and will work to help them receive appropriate care. Gratefully, young missionaries are not generally considered to be at high risk of complications from the illness.”

Thousands of missionaries have returned home. Many have been released; others will be reassigned once they have completed their mandatory 14 days in isolation.

(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)