(CTFP) – The Tennessee Department of Health is providing the names and addresses of residents who test positive for COVID-19 to sheriffs and chiefs of police across the state on a daily basis — a practice raising concerns about privacy.
The offer to share the otherwise protected health information with law enforcement came at the request of Gov. Bill Lee, according to two letters obtained by the Tennessee Lookout. “Health has a list of names and addresses of people in Tennessee who have tested positive or are receiving treatment for COVID-19,” a letter dated April 20 to state police chiefs said.
The letter was sent by Valerie Nagoshiner, chief of state for the Tennessee Department of Health. “Health will make that list available to you and send you an updated version of the list each day, provided that your office has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with health.”
A letter with the same offer was sent to the state’s sheriffs on April 9. The letters and memorandum make clear that the names of all individuals who have tested positive, even those with no past or present interaction with law enforcement,
will be disclosed to police departments and sheriffs’ offices. As of Thursday, 14,906 Tennesseans have tested positive for the virus, among them nursing home residents, meat processing plant workers, health care providers, and children. READ MORE
