An AP review shows that officials in at least 35 U.S. states share addresses of those who test positive for coronavirus with first responders to allow them to take extra precautions. Civil rights groups worry it'll lead to profiling.
“Many agencies before having this information had officers down, and now they’ve been able to keep that to a minimum,” said Maggi Duncan, executive director of the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police.
In Ohio, Health Director Dr. Amy Acton issued an April 24 order requiring local health departments to provide emergency dispatchers with names and addresses of people who tested positive for the coronavirus. Yet the order also stated that first responders should assume anyone they come into contact with may have COVID-19.
Duncan said having the information beforehand is valuable because it allows officers “to do their jobs better and safer.” Some are not convinced. The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition called sharing the medical information “deeply concerning,” warning that doing so may undermine the trust governments have been trying to build with immigrants and communities of color.
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