Tanya Roberts confirmed dead after inaccurate announcement earlier

Tanya Roberts, who was mistakenly announced as dead on Sunday, has, in fact, passed away, reported Yahoo Entertainment.

The news was confirmed to Yahoo by her publicist Mike Pingel late on Monday after he had cleared premature reports of her passing. “With a heavy heart, I can confirm the death of Tanya Roberts (age 65) last night on Jan. 4, 2021, around 9:30 p.m. PT at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.”

“Her 18-year domestic partner Lance O’Brien received the phone call from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center last night at their home confirming her passing,” said Pingel.

Roberts passed away from a urinary tract infection that spread to her kidney, gallbladder, liver, and then bloodstream.

She was earlier mispronounced dead in a shocking mix-up. 

Roberts’ partner, Lance O’Brien, had thought that she was dead and announced so. However, the hospital, Cedars-Sinai, where she was admitted reported her as being alive later over a phone call.

The bizarre moment of O’Brien taking the hospital call was caught on camera as he was being interviewed on Inside Edition. He was heard exclaiming, “Oh, thank the lord!”

Variety reported that the announcement mishap was possible only because hospitals in the Southern California region have been overburdened due to the surge in COVID hospitalizations. Reports also said that between “Dec. 25 and Dec. 28, there were no ICU beds available in the area that includes Cedars-Sinai.”