First coronavirus-related death reported in Columbus area is Troup County woman

A 61-year-old Troup County woman is the first coronavirus-related death reported in the Columbus area.

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported the woman’s death Thursday.

State health officials said she had an underlying medical condition.

Hayla Folden, spokesperson for District 4 Public Health, said the woman died Wednesday and her COVID-19 test came back positive Thursday. District 4 covers 12 counties in west Georgia, including Troup County.

As of noon March 26, 29 cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Columbus area. Here’s a breakdown:

• Muscogee: 5
• Troup: 10
• Randolph: 1
• Crisp: 4
• Sumter: 5
• Taylor: 1
• Harris: 1
• Macon: 1

• Meriwether: 1

Troup and Meriwether counties are outside of the Columbus-based West Central Health District. However, the Ledger-Enquirer is tracking these counties given their proximity to Columbus.

As of noon March 26, state officials reported 1,525 COVID-19 cases and 48 deaths.

This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 2:15 PM.

Nick Wooten

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Nick Wooten is the Accountability/Investigative reporter for the Ledger-Enquirer where he is responsible for covering several topics, including Georgia politics. His work may also appear in the Macon Telegraph. Nick was given the Georgia Press Association’s 2021 Emerging Journalist award for his coverage of elections, COVID-19 and Columbus’ LGBTQ+ community. Before joining McClatchy, he worked for The (Shreveport La.) Times covering city government and investigations. He is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.