April 17, 2020 | 2: 01 am
6 elderly South Carolina locals– including a couple– died of coronavirus a feweeks after going to the exact same funeral, according to a report.
All 6 of the deceased were African Americans and over 60- years-old, both classifications at high threat of contracting the illness brought on by the novel coronavirus, according to The State.
The coroner of Sumter County, where most of the dead lived, told the paper that all 6 likely contracted the health problem from another participant of the early March funeral service.
” They participated in that same funeral and regrettably passed away from COVID [19],” Baker said. “They came back to Sumter, got ill, and I was informed they had actually passed.
” Unfortunately, a large quantity of individuals gathered at that funeral, somebody there was infected with it, spread it, and just didn’t understand it,” Baker said.
The Centers for Illness Control and Prevention on March 16– after the South Carolina funeral service– provided brand-new guidance to funeral directors, prompting them to live stream services to abide by state and federal social distancing restrictions.
South Carolina had more than 3,600 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 107 deaths from the disease since Wednesday, the report said, citing the state health department.
About 90 percent of the state’s casualties were people over the age of 61, the paper stated.
African Americans, who comprise 27 percent of the state’s population, represent 56 percent of the state’s coronavirus-related deaths.