After attending a funeral for a loved one, six elderly South Carolina residents have died of coronavirus.
According to the New York Post, the six individuals were African American and over 60, which puts them in the “high risk” category for contracting the disease.
The Sumter County coroner, Robbie Baker, told the publication that he’s certain they contracted the disease during the funeral from another attendee and died a few weeks after.
“They attended that same funeral and unfortunately passed away from COVID,” he revealed.
“Unfortunately, a large amount of people congregated at that funeral, somebody there was infected with it, spread it, and just didn’t know it,” he added.
Baker revealed that those who attended the funeral were in self-quarantine.
Shortly after the funeral, the CDC announced a new guidance to funeral directors urging them to livestream services in order to practice social distancing and prevent the spread of the outbreak.
Amongst the deceased was an elderly couple who had been married for a decade and died days apart. Their names were not released out of respect for the family, but their obituaries noted that they were active members of the church and the heads of a multi-generational family.
The six deaths emphasize just how contagious the disease can be. COVID-19 is believed to be spread primarily by person-to-person contact when they are within six feet of each other and are exposed to droplets from a sick person's cough or sneeze, the CDC reports.
According to the New York Times, South Carolina has more than 3,900 confirmed cases and a death total of 109.
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