Columbia observes Day of Mourning and Lament as COVID-19 death toll continues to rise
Flags flying at half staff is just one way Columbia will be honoring the victims of the coronavirus pandemic on Monday.
Mayor Steve Benjamin and some religious leaders in Columbia will participate in a National Day of Mourning and Lament observation.
The event, which will begin at 11 a.m., is a solemn reminder that more than 100,000 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the U.S. since testing began in March. That includes nearly 500 victims of the coronavirus in South Carolina, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Leaders representing Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, and including City Council member Edward H. McDowell, Jr, who serves as pastor at Francis Burns United Methodist Church, will participate in the observance along with the mayor.
Because of social distancing mandates, the public can attend a digital ceremony which is available on the City of Columbia’s website.
The National Day of Mourning and Lament will be observed across the country, and millions of people are expected to participate, City of Columbia officials said.
DHEC confirmed 312 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, bringing the total number of positive tests in South Carolina to 11,861.
Richland County is second in the state in positive coronavirus tests with 1,546, behind Greenville County, which has reported 1,708 confirmed infections.
In addition to the new cases, state health officials said seven more people died after testing positive for COVID-19. The death toll in South Carolina has now reached 494.
More than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the past three days, according to DHEC.
The higher number of daily confirmed coronavirus infections comes as S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has reopened much of the state’ economy with restrictions to promote social distancing. But the new numbers also come as the state has aggressively ramped up testing in recent weeks in an effort to test as many people as possible, a move state health officials have said could lead to a spike in cases.
As of Monday morning, 6,189,560 people worldwide have been diagnosed with coronavirus and 372,469 people have died, while 2,652,477 have recovered according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States leads the world with 1,790,191 people who have been diagnosed with the novel virus. In the U.S. 104,383 deaths have been reported, including 29,784 in New York City.
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 7:20 AM.
