SARS-2-CoV (COVID-19)

[Raoul]

Truth be told we are already in a post privacy world. Between Facebook, gun forums, data scraping of what you buy at the grocery, how you use your credit cards And atm cards, G P S tracking.....we've all been made. Welcome to a brave new world citizens....

[Garufa]

13 minutes ago, Raoul said:

Truth be told we are already in a post privacy world. Between Facebook, gun forums, data scraping of what you buy at the grocery, how you use your credit cards And atm cards, G P S tracking.....we've all been made. Welcome to a brave new world citizens....

There is no denying that, to think otherwise is naive.  It’s bad enough that private businesses do it for their own marketing and bottom line purposes as the examples you mentioned, it’s an entirely different thing when government harvests that information for their own purposes which are entirely different.

I guess I’m the naive one thinking medical information was private.  Perhaps patient confidentiality and HIPAA doesn’t mean what I always thought...unless It’s for the protection of government.

[peejman]

3 hours ago, bud said:

Governor says at press conference today  regarding all the prison inmate testing:

 2,500 inmates have tested positive for coronavirus,

7 have been hospitalized,

there have been a small number of deaths.

Most positive cases are still not symptomatic.

 

0.3% hospitalization rate, that's certainly something to panic about. Anyone else notice that these results are made public just as things are opening back up?  Coincidence?  

 

1 hour ago, Garufa said:

How does everyone feel about The State turning over the names and addresses of positive COVID-19 persons to LE and other first responders?

Wouldn't that violate existing HIPAA law? Not that mere law would deter them. 

[homeagain]

HIPAA laws are largely misunderstood. Pretty narrow coverage scope, actually. Here’s a link that will tell you who is/is not a covered entity/individual under HIPAA: https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Administrative-Simplification/HIPAA-ACA/Downloads/CoveredEntitiesChart20160617.pdf

And a link that explains where the exception fits: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/covid-19-hipaa-and-first-responders-508.pdf

I don’t like it, but it is, and has been legal.

 

Edited May 13, 2020 by homeagain

[FUJIMO]

12 hours ago, Garufa said:

How does everyone feel about The State turning over the names and addresses of positive COVID-19 persons to LE and other first responders?

One more nail in my GUV LEE voodoo doll. In other words, I don't like it and will continue to do what I can to NOT help that process.

[Raoul]

2 hours ago, FUJIMO said:

One more nail in my GUV LEE voodoo doll. In other words, I don't like it and will continue to do what I can to NOT help that process.

So how do you feel about mandatory vaccinations for access to government services?

[FUJIMO]

5 minutes ago, Raoul said:

So how do you feel about mandatory vaccinations for access to government services?

Are you referring to the chatter that we should all be test subjects for a covid 19 vaccine and instead of volunteering we will just make you get one to do anything and go anywhere? What services do you mean ? Maybe I misunderstood the question

[DaveTN]

15 hours ago, Garufa said:

What else should law enforcement and paramedics be made aware of before answering a call in the grand scheme of things?  Serious question.  I'm just wondering where the former line between privacy and need currently stands, and where it's going.

If someone has a highly infectious medical condition that would threaten the lives of responding personnel; its not unreasonable to want to know that. Its not an STD; it’s the flu. Would you not want that if your kid was a paramedic, Fireman, or cop?

A company a family member works at is telling employees when someone in the plant has had Coronavirus. They will tell them the general area they worked in, but not who they are. They claim it’s a HIPPA violation to do so. It appears that may not be true. I told them I think they are putting themselves at more risk of liability by playing legal games than by protecting their employees. If someone dies because they had been exposed to an infected person; I guess we will find out.

As far as what I think first responders should be aware of? Things that put their lives at risk.

But then, I am one who believes your rights end where mine begin.

If your wife is calling for help because you are having a heart attack, the Paramedics have a right to know if someone in the house has this virus, if that information is available. The same holds true if she is calling the Police for help because you are beating her, or the Fire Department because there is smoke in the laundry room.

 

[Raoul]

I keep waiting for the day I get the question..."Your papers please"

[DaveTN]

1 minute ago, Raoul said:

I keep waiting for the day I get the question..."Your papers please"

You drive don't you? 

[Raoul]

Just now, DaveTN said:

You drive don't you? 

lol

[Raoul]

I think I'll put on my tin foil hat and go clean some guns

[DaveTN]

1 hour ago, Raoul said:

I think I'll put on my tin foil hat and go clean some guns

After you do that, read about the HERO ACT. 

[Raoul]

32 minutes ago, DaveTN said:

After you do that, read about the HERO ACT. 

10-4

[bud]

.

Edited December 24, 2020 by bud

[DaveTN]

8 minutes ago, bud said:

 I don't know anything about The Hero Act, but I will say-

There's way too much talk these days about heros, and front liners, and 1st responders  and essential businesses and people. We're all just animals that go to work. Some work harder than others. Some people's jobs involve a greater risk of contacting a communicable disease. 

I'm not about to give a round of applause to folks for going to work in a hospital, after they went to school to work in a hospital.

 Everybody's a hero these days, sheesh...

Correct. What would have happened if all the food industry workers stayed home, or Truck Drivers, or whoever? These folks are making the same decisions First Responders are making; go to work, even though it’s a risk.

BTW…. the HERO ACT isn’t about heroes. I started a thread about it in the politics section because I didn’t know if it was appropriate for here.

[btq96r]

2 hours ago, DaveTN said:

the Paramedics have a right to know

Paramedics don't have any rights beyond what you or I have.  That term is used far too loosely, and often enough to describe an encroachment on actual rights of the individual for the benefit of someone else.  It's also a very singular thing to say paramedics when you could easily lump in police officers, grocery store cashiers, and ER nurses.  Just how many people will claim a right to know, just because their job involves interaction with the public?

I get that it would make their jobs safer and easier in some respects, but to what degree?  They already wear gloves, and for the current time being, should be wearing surgical or N95 masks as part of their jobs.  Past that, what does knowing if someone has tested positive for COVID-19 do for them?  It doesn't relieve them of caring for that person, or any other aspect of how they would do the job, so "good to know" really isn't relevant to the performance of their duties, and it surely isn't a right.

[DaveTN]

15 minutes ago, btq96r said:

Paramedics don't have any rights beyond what you or I have.  That term is used far too loosely, and often enough to describe an encroachment on actual rights of the individual for the benefit of someone else.  It's also a very singular thing to say paramedics when you could easily lump in police officers, grocery store cashiers, and ER nurses.  Just how many people will claim a right to know, just because their job involves interaction with the public?

I get that it would make their jobs safer and easier in some respects, but to what degree?  They already wear gloves, and for the current time being, should be wearing surgical or N95 masks as part of their jobs.  Past that, what does knowing if someone has tested positive for COVID-19 do for them?  It doesn't relieve them of caring for that person, or any other aspect of how they would do the job, so "good to know" really isn't relevant to the performance of their duties, and it surely isn't a right.

Paramedics are you and I. Put whatever name on it that you like (or don’t like), rights, common sense, whatever. However I fully understand the discussion of the government disseminating any information will result in a variation of views.

The courts will have to decide if it’s a HIPAA violation or a violation of anyone’s rights. Until that happens agencies will do whatever they feel is within the law to protect both the Public and the First Responders.

[btq96r]

1 minute ago, DaveTN said:

Paramedics are you and I.

I meant in the performance of their jobs.  Same as when people say cops have rights...they don't.  They have authority society has codified on them for the performance of their duties, but those aren't rights, and we should never conflate the two.  Since it's pandemic time, we seem to be venturing into this debate for paramedics.  Same principles in my mind. 

Edited May 13, 2020 by btq96r

[DaveTN]

6 minutes ago, btq96r said:

I meant in the performance of their jobs.  Same as when people say cops have rights...they don't.  They have authority society has codified on them for the performance of their duties, but those aren't rights, and we should never conflate the two.  Since it's pandemic time, we seem to be venturing into this debate for paramedics.  Same principles in my mind. 

And they have decided to use that authority to not only protect their first responders, but to protect the public. Once a first responder is infected, they can then infect many more people when they are going from one call to the next. I’m not implying it needs to be a public safety issue, safety of the first responders is enough. Common sense; wouldn’t you agree?

[RED333]

What is the difference between this sickness and AIDS? Did the government release the names of people that has AIDS? What about other illness that can be spread and have the chance to kill?

JUST WTF IS OUR WORLD COMING TO???

[btq96r]

4 minutes ago, DaveTN said:

And they have decided to use that authority to not only protect their first responders, but to protect the public. Once a first responder is infected, they can then infect many more people when they are going from one call to the next. I’m not implying it needs to be a public safety issue, safety of the first responders is enough. Common sense; wouldn’t you agree?

Don't get me wrong, I get why this makes sense on the concept...but it's also a matter of trust in government to do the right thing with that information, and that's where things take a dive for me.

[DaveTN]

7 minutes ago, RED333 said:

What is the difference between this sickness and AIDS? Did the government release the names of people that has AIDS? What about other illness that can be spread and have the chance to kill?

JUST WTF IS OUR WORLD COMING TO???

AIDS was an STD that carried a lot of negative connotations. That is nothing like this. Doctors were falling all over themselves to say it wasn’t transmitted through the air; even when they didn’t know that.

The world has big problems right now from a Virus that killing people and destroying economies. Making people aware of carries of that virus is not a problem. Anyone that thinks it is must believe what China did to allow this virus to spread is okay.

[DaveTN]

4 minutes ago, btq96r said:

Don't get me wrong, I get why this makes sense on the concept...but it's also a matter of trust in government to do the right thing with that information, and that's where things take a dive for me.

That’s fine. It they abuse the information there should be consequences.

But its like those that say the TBI has a double secrete database of gun owners. I don’t know if that’s true, but I know it would be a criminal act. All it would take is for one whistleblower to open an investigation.

[peejman]

What's good for the goose is good for the gander...  release the names and addresses of all medical personnel who've been diagnosed with an infectious disease. I'd want to know if the person treating me was potentially contagious.