Six people die from coronavirus after attending same funeral in South Carolina

Deaths illustrate danger of people gathering in large groups, coroner warns

Six people in South Carolina have died from coronavirus after attending the same funeral.

The funeral was held in Columbia in the first week of March and many who attended are now in quarantine, The State reported.

“They attended that same funeral and unfortunately passed away from Covid,” Sumpter County coroner Robbie Baker said.

“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.”

A husband and wife who died days apart are among those who were infected while attending the funeral. The couple had been married for 50 years.

Mr Baker said the deaths were almost certainly a result of an infection that began at the funeral.

He said they illustrate the severity of the threat that still looms if individuals insist on gathering in large groups.

Melissa Nolan, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of South Carolina, explained how viral transmission could happen during a funeral.

“Hypothetically, if you have someone who is very sick, and they are shedding [the virus] and they walk up to the casket, and they cough, those virus particles will stay in the air around that environment for about an hour,” she said. ”If someone came into that environment, within six feet, they could become infected.”

Ms Nolan noted that individuals who aren’t showing symptoms do present less risk of infection, but urged caution regardless.

Officials from two South Carolina funeral homes told The State funeral homes have been encouraging families to adhere to social distancing during services, keeping at least six feet between mourners and ensuring gatherings remain small.

One of the officials, Brad Evans, president of the state’s Funeral Directors Association, said funeral homes were working to find ways to provide comfort while observing social distancing policies.

“In our profession, what’s the most difficult thing to do? It is to not shake someone’s hand, or not give someone a hug,” Mr Evans said.

“The most important thing you can do is to show somebody you care, and to not express that in a way as we have done forever – we are trying to do the best we can under the circumstances and trying to keep people safe.