County wants details on COVID-19 cases from state Department of Health
The most common question the Washington County commissioners are getting about the novel coronavirus is along the lines of, “Where do the people who are testing positive live?”
Another variation is, “Where do they work?”
Commissioner Nick Sherman mirrors the feelings of constituents, which he described as “frustration in not knowing where COVID positive cases are.”
Compounding the demand for information germane to Washington County is the fact that Allegheny County, which has its own health department, instituted a map last month showing the number of positive COVID-19 tests in each municipality.
“Some are accusing us of not releasing information, but I can’t release information I don’t have,” Sherman said last week after a commissioners’ teleconferenced meeting.
Also last month, Jeff Yates, Washington County director of public safety, sent a letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Health expressing disappointment, on behalf of the commissioners, first responders and citizens about the lack of information.
Responders have a right to know if they are answering a call that involves someone who has tested positive for the new coronavirus, Yates wrote: “While in a perfect world the answer of ‘treat everyone as if they tested positive for COVID-19’ would be appropriate, it is not a perfect world and there is not enough (personal protective equipment) to adequately protect our first responders.
“They need this information.”
At a minimum, Yates asked that the state Department of Health report the number of positive COVID-19 tests by municipality.
“Psychologically, it provides first responders and the public with a minimal sense of understanding the scope of the issue.”
He called the situation the commissioners and his department are experiencing “a public relations nightmare,” and closed by asking, “If you refuse to release the information we have requested, then provide us with a letter explaining your position and the justification.”
Inconsistency arises between state and county health departments because a 1955 law allows agencies to “exercise discretion” in releasing information, said Melissa Melewsky, attorney for the Pennsylvania News Media Association based in Harrisburg.
“I think there’s been reason to change it,” Melewsky continued, but there’s been no momentum toward that end because “the vast majority of Pennsylvanians haven’t seen how this plays out.
“It’s been very problematic for a very long time. It’s certainly not a new problem for journalists interested in public health information.”
The 64-year-old act has been “routinely cited by the Department of Health in denials under the Right-to-Know law and has been for the last decade.”
Melewsky, after watching the live stream of Gov. Tom Wolf and state Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine on Monday, felt “there may be a hope to come to some kind of a resolution this week” about the depth of information released by the state.
Yates hadn’t received a reply as of Monday afternoon, but, provided with a copy of the letter from Washington County officials, April L. Hutcheson, communications director for the state Department of Health, wrote via email, “The Disease Control and Prevention Act does provide a patient with an affirmative right to privacy.
“In the interest of public health, we are able to provide the county data, as well as age breakdowns.”
Meanwhile, state Sen. Kim Ward of Westmoreland County is seeking co-sponsors of a bill that would require the Pennsylvania Department of Health to release communicable disease information by municipality.
Under the proposed legislation, county commissioners or their designated county emergency management coordinator would be notified of confirmed contagious disease cases such as COVID-19.
“My bill will not compromise the confidentiality of patient information. No names or other information will be released beyond the municipality,” Ward wrote in seeking co-sponsors.