More than 40 diagnosed with COVID-19 after Frankfurt church service

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - More than 40 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus following a church service in Frankfurt, Germany's financial center, earlier this month, the head of the city's health department told a news agency on Saturday.

"Most of them are not seriously ill. As far as we know only one person has been admitted to hospital," Rene Gottschalk told the dpa agency.

The service took place on May 10 at a Baptist church, the department's deputy chief Antoni Walczok told local newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau. On its website https://www.seidheilig.de the church says it holds services in both German and Russian.

"The situation is very dynamic," Walczok told the paper, adding the church did not violate official guidelines aimed at containing the spread of the virus.

Churches in the German state of Hesse, where Frankfurt is located, have been able to hold services since May 1 provided they adhere to official social distancing and hygiene rules.

Frankfurt's health department was not available for comment outside business hours on Saturday.

(Reporting by Reuters Television; Edited by James Drummond and Peter Graff)