6 People In South Carolina Died From Coronavirus After Attending A Burial Ceremony

Burial Ceremony Image David McNew/Getty Images

Six people in California have died from Coronavirus after attending the burial of a person that died from attending the same funeral.

The group attended the funeral during the first week of March as reported in The Complex. This was before the CDC announced its social distancing directives to funeral directors on March 16, which advised funeral homes to make live-streaming available for services.

The funeral had taken place in Kershaw County, which encompasses Camden, South Carolina. A married couple, both over the age of 60, was part of the group that passed away. They died days apart from each other.

According to Coroner RobbieBaker:
They attended that same funeral and unfortunately passed away from COVID-19. They came back to Sumter, got sick, and I was notified they had passed. Unfortunately, a large number of people congregated at that funeral, somebody there was infected with it, spread it, and just didn’t know it.

The other four people who died were also over the age of 60, a group that’s at high-risk to contract the virus. Coronavirus has hit the elderly the hardest in South Carolina and across the U.S.

Many of those who attended the funeral have self-quarantined.

Earlier this week, news surfaced of the first person contracting COVID-19 from an infected dead body. At this point, little is known about how long the virus can live in dead bodies or how it’s passed on once a person dies.

Now, not only are healthcare workers at risk of contracting the virus, but medical examiners, morgue technicians, and people who work in funeral homes.

Stay at home and be safe!