SC coroners ask if they must release names of COVID-19 dead

A car turns in at a location for drive-thru COVID-19 testing at Prisma Richland Hospital on Friday, April 3, 2020, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

by: JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press

Posted: Apr 7, 2020 / 05:34 PM EDT

Updated: Apr 7, 2020 / 05:34 PM EDT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s coroners are asking the state’s top lawyer whether they have to release the names of people who die because of COVID-19 to the public.

York County Coroner Sabrina Gast sent a letter to Attorney General Alan Wilson asking for his office’s legal opinion. Gast’s letter is on behalf of the South Carolina Coroners Association and says they’re mainly worried about the families of the people who died.

Wilson’s office hasn’t published an opinion yet. The letter was first reported by The Greenville News.

South Carolina has reported 51 deaths from COVID-19 and more than 2,415 diagnosed cases.

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