Nashville’s Human Relations Commission is asking local officials to stop sharing COVID-19 patient data with law enforcement.
For weeks, the health department has been sharing the names and addresses of those who test positive for the virus with first responders. Health officials have defended the practice, saying the information lets first responders know when to suit up accordingly, if they might come into contact with someone who’s sick. They say it also allows hospital and jail staff prepare for someone who has tested positive entering their facility.
But the commission says black and immigrant communities have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, and that those communities often distrust law enforcement — perhaps even more now than in the past.
Melody Fowler-Green, executive director of commission, said in an email to council members and local officials that first responders should have personal protective equipment for every call, since many carriers of the virus don’t even know they have it. She also said she worries that providing patient information to first responders could discourage residents from getting tested.
The governor recently ended a similar data sharing program between the state health department and local law enforcement. The policy had come under fire by both conservative privacy advocates, as well as minority rights groups.
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