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For now, it appears there is no reason for immediate concern about COVID-19 among area residents. But what if there were? Would the government alert us?
Perhaps not.
COVID-19, sometimes referred to by the generic name "coronavirus," threatens to become a global public health crisis. Though the vast majority of cases and deaths have been in China, the virus has spread to at least 60 countries.
At this writing, only 60 cases had been confirmed in the United States.
As was reported last week, government officials from the local level on up to Washington are making preparations for a wider outbreak in this country. Steps being taken by local health departments seem wise.
By Friday, only one person in Ohio was being monitored by public health officials for possible exposure to COVID-19. Where, you ask?
Good question. State officials are not answering it. HIPAA, you understand.
HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a multi-faceted federal law. Part of it is intended to ensure private information about people's health care conditions and treatment is kept confidential. Ohio state officials claim that is the reason they are not revealing where the person being monitored lives.
Their stance is similar to that taken in West Virginia regarding AIDS and HIV cases. State officials will release numbers only for multi-county regions. HIPAA, you understand.
Bureaucratic malarkey.
Providing information on where those affected by any health condition live invades no one's privacy.
Ask yourself: If the government revealed a resident of your county had been bitten by a rabid raccoon, would you, strictly from that information, have any idea of the person's identity? Of course not.
But officials do release that type of information, and we suspect most people are appreciative. It enables us to take precautions such as not leaving pet food outside to attract wild animals, etc.
Why are we not given the same consideration regarding other diseases, including COVID-19?
The truth is that in this situation, government officials have decided that the less we know, the better off we will be. That is an elitist, irresponsible attitude toward the public -- and it is unacceptable.