Fox News Flash top headlines for April 15
Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.
An Illinois judge has ordered that the McHenry County Health Department hand the names of those who have tested positive to coronavirus over to police.
The Health Department in McHenry, approximately an hour outside Chicago, had originally refused to hand over the names, prosecutors said. Health departments typically cite privacy concerns in withholding such information, specifically the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally’s office filed a lawsuit last week on behalf of Sheriff Bill Prim, who had asked the Health Department to provide the names and addresses of those infected to 911 dispatchers. The information would be relayed to officers assigned to each call so that they could take necessary health precautions.
CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK AT CHICAGO-AREA SHELTER INFECTS DOZENS OF IMMIGRANT CHILDREN
“This was a no-brainer for the Health Department, a common-sense, confidential, and entirely lawful way they could have worked collaboratively with police departments to assist in enhancing the safety of officers and the community in these dangerous times, and they strangely refused,” Kenneally said, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“The fact that we had to spend precious time and public resources, clearly best spent elsewhere in this difficult time, to get a court order in our favor is beyond disappointing,” Kenneally continued.
The health department said in a statement that while it was “compelled to provide the information,” it remains the health department’s “professional health opinion” that providing patients’ identities to the police is excessive.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
“While we are compelled to provide this information, MCDH has requested the tightest control of this private medical information, whereby it will be provided only to the Emergency Telephone System Board (ETSB-911) for dissemination on a call-by-call basis,” the department continued.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
The department added that giving the names of COVID-19 patients to police will “confer a false sense of security to the police, and that they should be taking extra protective steps with all people they encounter, including with colleagues.”
True Crime
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.
