The State of Tennessee is implementing a very troubling policy. Governor Lee has signed an executive order requiring the records of Tennesseans who have tested positive for the Covid-19 virus to be released to police departments and sheriff’s departments.
From the TENNESSEAN
More than 280,000 people in Tennessee have been tested for then corona virus many using drive-thru centers. They willingly filled out forms sharing their name, date of birth, address and other information, likely unaware that if they tested positive for COVID-19 their heath data would be released to law enforcement.
The ‘good reason’ put forth to justify this action is to allow first responders know when they are tending to a known infected subject. But as a man said once, “There are two reasons for what someone wants to do, the good reason, which is the one they tell you, and the real reason, which is the one they don’t tell you”.
I have great apprehension over what the ‘real reason’ might be. I ultimately fear it will be used to forcibly move known infected people to other locations until some authority deems it’s safe to go home. Or even worse.
Apparently, this is not a violation of the HIPAA laws.. same TENNESSEAN article.
The Department of Health and Human Services asserts a HIPAA-covered entity may disclose personal health information to law enforcement without an individual's signed HIPAA authorization in certain circumstances, including "to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of an individual or the public."
In spite of the noble assertion (the good reason) that it will protect first responders, it would seem best if the responders assume that all subjects they come in contact with are positive. There are many infectious asymptomatic people who have not been tested. So that noble reasoning seems to be very weak. The demand for this action is apparently coming from the politically powerful law enforcement community and the Governor has yielded to the pressure. There is plenty of pushback, but I don’t believe in will have any impact. Once again from the above linked article….
Meanwhile, the Tennessee Black Caucus on Sunday asked for an immediate end to the practice as communities fear possible other uses of the information. " Lawmakers — both Democrat and Republican called the Governor to task for the decision.
North Nashville activist group Gideon's Army said it increases the risk that community members who are being tested for the virus in their public housing communities are "impacted by explicit and implicit bias." And immigrant rights coalitions and lawyers remain deeply concerned that this will further affect testing numbers and trust in some of the most severely sickened communities.
Health professionals are resisting also.. TENNESSEAN
Doctors interviewed by the media have chosen their words thoughtfully when speaking about those they have treated — always careful not to provide any identifying information so HIPAA regulations are not violated.
This extreme right-wing bent toward authoritarianism is highly troublesome and may deter many from being tested. It is not necessary or protective of first responders. It will become, I fear, merely a device to allow tangential abuse of personal privacy rights by irresponsible authorities.