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Tennessee, Nashville health officials provide names of those testing positive for coronavirus to police

Gov. Bill Lee says the state’s release to police departments and sheriff’s offices the names and addresses of Tennesseans who have tested positive for the coronavirus is necessary to protect officers’ lives — information that is also being independently shared between city health officials and police in Nashville.

Lee told reporters at Second Harvest Food Bank in Nashville on Friday the details are only for those working “from a law enforcement standpoint” to know who has tested positive.

“We believe that that’s appropriate to protect the lives of law enforcement,” Lee said when asked why police need the information

The Tennessee Lookout, a new nonprofit news organization, first reported the agreement between local law enforcement agencies and the state Department of Health, which is releasing the information.

The agencies receiving lists from the state of individuals who have contracted the coronavirus include the Knoxville Police Department, the Nashville Airport Authority, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and dozens more.

Nashville health officials share coronavirus patient data with police, fire officials

Separately, in Nashville, the Metro Health Department confirmed to The Tennessean Friday that officials have been providing to the Metro Nashville Police Department the addresses of people who have tested positive or are quarantined for COVID-19.

The data is inputted into the police department’s computer system so that any officer who has contact with an individual who has tested positive for the virus can take additional precautions, Metro Health spokesperson Brian Todd said.

Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said in a similar statement the department uses the information so officers can “take additional precautions.”

The information is also put into the Department of Emergency Communications dispatch system so that fire and EMS workers responding to an address can take steps to use increased personal protective equipment and distancing protocols.

“At no time is this data shared with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office,” Todd said in a statement.

In a statement, Cooper spokesperson Chris Song reiterated Todd’s comments, and said the information is “safely kept” among Metro agencies.

“We are taking necessary precautions to protect both our first responders and our residents, including those who are part of Nashville’s diverse immigrant communities,” Song said, adding officials are communicating with community partners that the information will not be shared with federal immigration authorities.

“As Mayor Cooper has stated repeatedly, everyone deserves to feel safe in our community, including our front line personnel and the valued members of our immigrant communities,” he said in a statement.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, cancellations and restrictions in Tennessee

There were 14,768 cases in the state as of May 9, including 242 deaths and 1,319 hospitalizations.
Source: Tennessee Department of Health • The statewide case total includes 366 people from other states/countries, 33 people whose county of residence is pending and 7,369 who have recovered.

Though the data isn’t not shared with the sheriff’s office, the health department said if a police officer arrests a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, they will inform sheriff’s personnel when releasing them into their custody.

All public safety personnel have been noticed that the information cannot be publicly released and is for “official use only,” Todd and Aaron said. Unauthorized use is a violation of Metro police policy.

The information is updated regularly, and once a person has recovered from COVID-19, they are removed from the list.

Tennessee in agreements with 68 law enforcement agencies

According to the Tennessee Department of Health, as of Friday 68 police chiefs and sheriffs have signed on to a memorandum of understanding that they will receive a running list of names and addresses of individuals in Tennessee “documented as having tested positive, or received treatment for COVID-19.”

The list is updated for law enforcement each day, the MOU states, and individuals’ names are removed from the list after 30 days.

Metro police and the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office have no plans to move into an agreement with the state, according to both Aaron and Todd.

Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, criticized the policy’s impact on privacy and said it’s more important for law enforcement agencies to focus on offering officers proper protective gear as a way to keep them safe.

“Protecting the health of first responders is certainly an important priority. However, as public health experts have noted, disclosing names and addresses of positive cases does not protect first responders, as many people have not been tested and many people who do carry the virus are asymptomatic,” Weinberg said in a statement.

“Disclosing the personal information of individuals who will never have contact with law enforcement raises fundamental concerns about privacy without yielding a significant public health benefit. It is incumbent that any government policy implemented during the pandemic be grounded in science and public health and be no more intrusive on civil liberties than absolutely necessary.”

The Tennessee Immigration and Refugee Rights Coalition has worked during the pandemic to reduce barriers preventing immigrants statewide from getting care and have formally partnered with Metro Nashville and other organizations to increase more community outreach.

In a statement posted on Twitter Friday, TIRRC said the state’s policy to share information with law enforcement should be “rescinded immediately.”

“This completely undermines all of the work organizations like ours are doing to encourage people to go get tested. This will exacerbate the public health crisis,” TIRRC said.

“Public health responses don’t happen in a vacuum. Today’s reports are deeply concerning because the impact of information sharing between public health agencies and local law enforcement may worsen the deficit of trust that governments have been working to improve with many communities, including immigrants and communities of color,” TIRRC Policy Director Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus said in a statement.

The organization, she said, will work to get more information about the information sharing agreement, including what privacy protections are in place.

“We will continue to advocate for policies at the state and local level to ensure all Tennesseans have access to testing and treatment and that their information will be protected, while continuing our outreach and education work to ensure that immigrant communities have all the information and resources they need to keep their families safe and healthy,” Sherman-Nikolaus said.

Lee said Friday the state was providing this information to law enforcement agencies in compliance with guidelines put forth by the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

A document published by DHHS’ Office for Civil Rights states the HIPAA Privacy Rule permits an entity like a health department to release protected health information to first responders “to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health and safety of a person or the public.”

Shelley Walker, spokesperson fro the Tennessee Department of Health, said in a statement the department “believes these disclosures are necessary to avert a serious threat to health or safety.”

More than 14,000 people in Tennessee have tested positive for the virus.

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