COVINGTON, Ga. — The daughter of a longtime Covington business owner says her mother and sister are recovering but still have ways to go before fully leaving behind the effects of COVID-19 after contracting the disease in recent months.

Janet Barnhardt said her mother, Montgomery Tax Service owner Judy Montgomery, and sister, Carey Williams, were hospitalized in early April after contracting the disease which has afflicted people worldwide.

Williams works with her mother and was hospitalized April 2 after first appearing to show no symptoms of the disease, which has afflicted 2 million in the U.S., according to USA Today.

"There's a possibility customers brought it into the office," Barnhardt said.

Montgomery, who has operated her business on Gordy Street in Covington for decades, was hospitalized three days later on April 5 after also first appearing to show no symptoms, Barnhardt said. 

Both spent more than a month and a half being treated at Piedmont Newton Hospital.

"My sister was in an induced coma on a ventilator during most of that time," Barnhardt said. "(She) was just transferred to a long-term acute care facility where she remains on the ventilator and is now awake and fortunately has tested negative twice so, hopefully, no longer actively has the virus."

Her mother, however, is "still very sick" and has been transferred to a rehab facility in Thomaston where she is still testing positive for the virus, Barnhardt said. 

"This has been very hard on her body," she said. "(She is) undergoing rehab with a very long road ahead of her."

"At this point, we're holding out hope both of them can go home," she said.

Her mother "is very loved by the community," and has longtime customers, she said.

Montgomery had been walking two miles or more each day and participated in such events as the 5K Fuzz Run, Barnhardt said.

For more information, go to www.gofundme.com and search for Judy Montgomery or Carey Williams.