Forsyth County man lies about having COVID-19 during jail booking

MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) A Forsyth County man is accused of lying about having the coronavirus while being booked into jail.

Ronald Nathaniel Steward, 29, was charged with making false statements and terroristic threats on April 11 after telling Cobb County sheriff's deputies that he had been diagnosed with coronavirus, according to a Cobb County arrest warrant. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said Steward lives in Cumming. 

Steward signed a release authorizing medical treatment and the release of medical information, the warrant said. He said he received treatment at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, but the hospital told a jail nurse that Steward was not tested or treated there.

After the call, Cobb County deputies said they still quarantined Steward in a single-person cell and used protective gear around him.

Court records show that Steward was originally charged with obstruction and a misdemeanor battery for hitting a police officer last November, the Marietta Daily Journal reported.