Thursday night, Tanner Health System received confirmation from the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) that eight patients have tested positive for the novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) at Tanner facilities.

Seven patients are from Carroll County and one patient is from Polk County. Three of the Carroll County patients are hospitalized at Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton. The remaining five were given self-isolation and care instructions.

Due to federal patient privacy laws and our commitment to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of all our patients, more specific information about the patients will not be released.

“As a community hospital system, it’s our primary goal to protect the health and safety of our patients, employees and community,” said Laura Larson, MD, board-certified in infectious diseases and medical director of infection prevention at Tanner. “Infection prevention is what we do, and our staff is trained in controlling diseases such as this. We’re ensuring the patients are receiving excellent care, their loved ones are aware of our treatment plans and the patients’ prognoses, and our team is active in ensuring the virus is contained.”

To ensure the safety and protection of patients and employees, Tanner has already implemented visitor restrictions across the organization until further notice. Please continue taking precautions to protect yourself and your loved ones, as recommended by the CDC.

Tanner will continue to monitor the patients and update the public as necessary. For other information, please see Tanner’s Coronavirus 2019 Update newsletter, Tanner’s website for COVID-19 updates, Tanner’s Facebook page and the CDC website.