Metro Health Department Will Again Share COVID-19 Data With First Responders

Metro health officials will once again be sharing information on COVID-19 cases with first responders, but there will be tighter restrictions.  

Nashville emergency dispatchers will tell first responders the names of people with COVID-19 only if the person needs to be transported. Otherwise, they’ll just confirm there’s a positive case in the household.

The data will be deleted after 30 days assuming there isn’t a reinfection. 

Under an old policy, the Board of Health was sharing people’s data if they had the virus as a safeguard for first responders. But that program was suspended in late spring, after some Metro officials and advocacy groups worried it would stop marginalized communities from getting tested or calling for help if they need it.  

Tennessee had a similar policy but decided it wasn’t necessary to share the data once first responders got the protective equipment they needed.

The new policy has been approved by the Metro Board of Health for six weeks.