The Muscogee County coroner’s office has confirmed the first COVID-19 related Columbus death.
Coroner Buddy Bryan said that an 85-year-old man who had tested positive for the virus died Sunday at 4:13 p.m. in the Intensive Care Unit at Piedmont Columbus Regional’s Midtown campus.
The Georgia Department of Public Health listed eight confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Muscogee County.
Per its policy, a Piedmont Columbus Regional spokesperson said Sunday afternoon the hospital will have no comment on COVID-19 deaths at this time for patient privacy reasons.
“Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia, Piedmont’s hospitals have had patients pass away as a result of COVID-19,” a Piedmont spokesperson stated in an email Sunday. “Having said that, Piedmont Healthcare’s longstanding policy is not to provide updates on the status of patients. Moving forward, out of respect for the families involved and in line with our interpretation of the federal health privacy law HIPAA, Piedmont will not confirm the deaths of any patients that result from COVID-19, just as it would not do so for any other cause of death.”
