VALDOSTA — A Facebook post claiming an 11-year-old died in Valdosta’s hospital from COVID-19 is untrue, according to authorities.

The posting, made April 12, claims a boy named “Hermon” died at 8 a.m. that morning at “a hospital in Valdosta.” The poster claims they are trying to get the boy’s mother back to Chicago.

“The mom will need financial support once she’s back in Chicago,” the post said, followed by a request for donations online.

The post is accompanied by a photo of a boy in a hospital bed with an older woman alongside him.

More than 90 comments had been left on repostings of this claim, most offering condolences and offering to repost it further.

The only thing is: South Georgia Medical Center — the only hospital in Valdosta — says it isn’t true.

“We have not had a patient with that name. We believe this is a scam,” said Erika J. Bennett, spokeswoman for SGMC.

“If the patient had COVID, no visitors are allowed, so (the photo) couldn’t have been taken” at the hospital, she said.

SGMC had eight confirmed COVID-19 deaths as of 3 p.m. Thursday, some from other counties. Three Lowndes County residents had died of COVID-19 by that time.

“I don’t know of anyone under 40 who’s died in Lowndes from COVID-19,” Lowndes County Coroner Austin Fiveash said. His office had not made out a death certificate for anyone named “Hermon,” he said.

Both Valdosta police and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office said they had not been aware of the postings.

Attempts to reach the initial poster were unsuccessful Thursday afternoon.