MACON, Ga. — Recent numbers have lots of people talking about COVID-19 cases and deaths, but for many families, it's a touchy subject.
Authorities say many survivors are reluctant to say that family members died of the coronavirus because they believe there's a stigma.
Funeral homes come with many decisions.
Some might say it's taboo to announce a COVID-19 death in the family, while others announce that to the public without a second thought.
Why is that?
Pamela Scott of Macon beat COVID-19.
Then, a year later, she lost a close friend to the virus.
"Not a whole lot that I can say that would not bring back a memory of him," Scott said.
It's because of those memories she shares her coronavirus story and believes that's why others do, too.
"My pastor's family and other family members who have made it known that they have either had family members to pass from COVID-19 or they themselves had COVID, I think it was that was the same purpose for them. It was the awareness to give the community, someone, a voice, a face for the virus," Scott said.
Not everyone feels the same way.
According to Macon-Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones, most people don't want to share their loved one died from the coronavirus because it'll cause a panic.
Jones said, "Because they say, 'OK, my brother died of COVID-19,' and it gets out that their brother died of COVID-19, whoever had contact with their brother is going to panic."
Likewise, DeUndray Bentley, owner and director of Bentley & Sons Funeral Home, says most family members don't want to talk about it unless it's educational.
Bentley said, "Explaining why people need to keep their mask on -- their loved one just passed, and you then can go outside and someone doesn't have a mask on or are saying you don't have to wear a mask when they know it's not true."
Now, Scott believes many people are in denial.
"It's not a whole lot that they want to hear. They think it's a myth that isn't true, that it hasn't happened, it's not going to happen, but yet, we face it every day," Scott said.
All three of them did say it is the family's choice.
They agree that people grieve in different ways, so it's up to the family to decide how they want their loved one to be remembered.
Leon Jones says the coroner's office must include the apparent cause of death on the death certificate, which is a legal document.