HEARTBREAKING

Six People Die of COVID-19 After Attending South Carolina Funeral

All six individuals who attended the funeral held in the first week of March were over the age of 60.

Six South Carolina residents have died of coronavirus a few weeks after attending the same funeral, officials said on Friday. The group —which includes a married couple—had all attended the same funeral in Kershaw County held in the first week of March, Sumter County coroner Robbie Baker said. The funeral occurred before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued March 16 guidance to funeral directors, urging them to live-stream services to comply with social-distancing restrictions.

“They attended that same funeral and unfortunately passed away from COVID [19],” Baker said, noting all of the deceased were over the age of 60. “They came back to Sumter, got sick, and I was notified they had passed. Unfortunately, a large amount of people congregated at that funeral, somebody there was infected with it, spread it, and just didn’t know it.”