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Health Six mourners all die from coronavirus in South Carolina after attending a funeral with a ‘super-spreader who didn’t realize they were infected’
- The funeral was held in Kershaw County in the first week of March – before mass gatherings were restricted
- The coroner believes the victims came into contact with a coronavirus ‘super-spreader’ at the funeral who unknowingly infected the entire group
- All of the victims were African American and over the age of 60
- As of Friday morning, there have been 3,931 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 109 deaths in South Carolina
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
By Andrew Court For Dailymail.com
Published: | Updated:
Six people have died from the coronavirus after attending a funeral in South Carolina.
Officials announced the tragic news Thursday, but did not release the names of the victims, who were all African Americans over the age of 60.
The group attended the funeral, which was held in Kershaw County, in the first week of March – before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called for restrictions on mass gatherings.
A county coroner told The State that it was likely all of the victims contracted COVID-19 from a ‘super-spreader’ at the event, who did not realize they were infected.
Six people have died from the coronavirus after attending a funeral in South Carolina last month. Their names have not been released
‘We don’t want anyone to think that they are just numbers because they are not. They are people that lost their lives tragically,’ the coroner, Robbie Baker, told FOX 57.
He said others who attended the funeral are now in self-quarantine. It is unclear whether any other attendees became infected but have now recovered.
There have been a number of high-profile incidents where doctors believe a super-spreader has infected dozens of people at a single event.
Last month, 45 out of 60 people contracted COVID-19 while at a choir practice in Washington state.
And in Sydney, Australia, 39 people became infected with the virus after attending a wedding held in early March.
South Carolina has reported 3,931 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 109 deaths – with the case numbers doubling in the past two weeks alone.
African Americans have been disproportionately the victims of the virus in both South Carolina and the United States as a whole.
African-Americans make up 27 percent of South Carolina’s population, but have accounted for 56 percent of all coronavirus deaths across the state.
A drill sergeant is pictured taking temperatures at Fort Jackson in South Carolina
The statistics reflect those from other states, which also show that African Americans are twice as likely to die from the virus.
Black residents have been particularity hard-hit in cities including New York, Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago and Milwaukee. In states like Louisiana up to 70 percent of the victims were people of color.
Last week, published data showed that African Americans account for about 42 per cent of coronavirus deaths in areas where demographic information has been obtained, despite only accounting for 21 per cent of the population in those areas.
African-Americans make up 27 percent of South Carolina’s population, but have accounted for 56 percent of all coronavirus deaths across the state. A testing center in the state is pictured
A history of systemic racism and inequity in access to health care and economic opportunity has made many African Americans far more vulnerable to the virus.
Black adults suffer from higher rates of obesity, diabetes and asthma, which make them more susceptible, and also are more likely to be uninsured.
African Americans are also over represented among workers like nurse aides, grocery store clerks, emergency dispatchers and public transportation employees who cannot work from hone.
That forces them out into the general public at a time when others are under strict stay-at-home orders.
More than half a million Americans have tested positive to COVID-19 and nearly 35,000 have died
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Health Six African Americans die of coronavirus after attending a funeral together in South Carolina - Daily Mail
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