Is Muscogee seeing rise in COVID-19 related deaths? What health district, coroner say

Muscogee County saw a new record this week for the number of COVID-19 deaths reported in a single day.

On Wednesday, the Georgia Department of Public Health reported six new deaths in Muscogee County. The previous largest single-day increases were five new deaths, reported on June 23 and July 14.

The county has reported a total of 90 coronavirus-related deaths as of 3 p.m. August 6.

Here’s the monthly tally of coronavirus-related deaths since the county reported its first death on April 6:

• August: 9
• July: 35
• June: 29
• May: 10
• April: 7

Pam Kirkland, a spokesperson for the West Central Health District based in Columbus, said Thursday she can’t say if this is the start of a spike in coronavirus-related deaths or a continuing trend of increased deaths as cases continue to increase in the county and beyond.

It’s important to note that the numbers indicate when deaths are reported to the Georgia Department of Public Health, not when the deaths actually occurred, she said.

“You never know how quickly and timely those reports are getting into the system,” she said. “It’s possible all those deaths didn’t occur at the same time.”

Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan said he thinks there is currently a spike in coronavirus-related deaths in the county.

“We knew it was coming. In March and April we were having deaths...but now some of these patients are dying due to having it a long time, they contracted the virus in March or April and are just now dying in August,” he said. “They remain in the hospital on ventilators and things of that nature.”

Bryan said he estimates 99% of the coronavirus-related deaths are happening in the hospital, and are reported to the coroner’s office.

In July, the coroner’s office responded to about a dozen COVID-19 related deaths at people’s homes, he said. He also said the health department is not allowing COVID-19 to be the primary cause of death on death certificates.

“But when we do a death certificate we put down all the other conditions: congestive heart failure, COPD, diabetes, things of that nature. (COVID-19) can be a secondary cause or third cause but it’s not a primary cause. Normally the people catch pneumonia or sepsis,” he said.

Kirkland said she hopes the high number isn’t indicative of what’s to come. She said the biggest problem is getting people to follow safety and social distancing guidelines.

“All of us are commenting on it when we get to work; nobody is wearing masks, people are just all over each other,” she said. “And honestly I just don’t know what to do. We can tell them until they’re blue in the face and they’re still not going to do it.”

A spokesperson for Piedmont Columbus Regional deferred questions about coronavirus deaths to the department of health. St. Francis-Emory Healthcare did not respond to a request for comment before this story’s deadline.

This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 7:00 AM.