Columbia will lower flags to half staff as SC coronavirus deaths top 100
The city of Columbia is lowering flags on all public buildings to half staff as South Carolina passes 100 deaths from the coronavirus outbreak.
The city announced the move in a press release on Wednesday, before state health officials released a daily update on COVID-19 cases statewide.
As of Tuesday, the official death count from the coronavirus stood at 97.
Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin ordered flags lowered at City Hall and other municipal buildings beginning at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
“We feel sorrow and heartache due the enormous loss of life from COVID-19 symptoms across our state,” Benjamin said in a statement. “We know the grief families feel for their loved ones, many who have died alone and afraid in hospitals and care centers. Lowering the flag of Columbia is an expression of our understanding of the suffering so many grieving families are feeling right now.”
Columbia sits at the heart of Richland County, which has been the most heavily impacted county in the state from the outbreak. The county’s total stood at 535 cases on Tuesday, 160 more than the next wort hit county, Greenville. Richland County also leads the state with 11 deaths.
Cases of COVID-19 continue to rise throughout South Carolina, with 115 new cases reported Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 3,553.
Even as the number of cases continues to rise, the state’s hospitals are struggling. Prisma Health has furloughed 3,900 employees at its Midlands and Upstate hospitals, which employ a total of 30,000 people. Nine hundred people have been laid off by the Medical University of South Carolina’s hospital system. On Tuesday, it was announced that Columbia’s Providence Hospital had also placed 51 employees on leave amid hour reductions and pay cuts for some positions.
The decision to lower the flag comes a little more than a month after Columbia officially adopted a new city flag.
“The flag of Columbia now stands as a symbol that our city and its residents have survived dark times & unimaginable disasters, and reminds us all that we will survive this pandemic, and be made stronger because of it,” the city said in a press release.
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 2:20 PM.
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