Med Beat: Here’s why we don’t tell you every restaurant and place there is an outbreak of COVID-19 – Roanoke Times

I'm hearing a great deal of frustration from folks who are upset that today'sstory didn't name the five local restaurants experiencing outbreaks of COVID-19.

Last week, it was churchgoers wondering if an outbreak at a place of worship was at their own. All along I've been hearing from families with loved ones in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and group homes calling for more specifics.

Unless a business, church, restaurant, construction site, etc., tells people it is having an outbreak, there is no way to know and to verify.

The Virginia Department of Health claims state code bars it from identifying any restaurant, church, nursing home or any other place of business where an outbreak of the virus has closed. The business can choose to do so itself, but state government bars itself from such disclosures.

The Northam administration interprets state code this way:

The State Health Commissioner is required by Va. Code 32.1-41 to preserve the anonymity of each patient and practitioner whose medical records are examined as part of a disease investigation. Disease reports submitted to VDH are confidential per 32.1-36, and that section provides that the patients identity and disease state shall be confidential. VDH is not able to release disease information at the facility level to the media, because that would compromise the anonymity of the patient.

In addition, per 32.1-38, neither the name of any person reported to VDH nor the name of any person making a report shall be disclosed to the public. According to Va. Code 32.1-3, person means an individual, corporation, partnership or other legal entity. Thus, VDH cannot release the name of a facility that made a disease report.

The administration has chosen not to disclose the county or city in which the business is located, providing information only at a "health district" level, which mostly includes multiple counties.

If you think this hampers your ability to understand risks from a public health perspective, to decide where you would like to eat, whether you are comfortable sitting in a church pew or if the people caring for your mom have been exposed to the virus, tell the governor, your delegate or your state senator.

While I don't mind answering your calls or replying to your emails, I have no power beyond asking the same questions and getting the same answers.

If you want change, go here to find your delegate and senator, and here to contact the governor.

And here's the other thing. It really doesn't matter if the outbreak is at the ABC or the XYZ restaurant. What you need to know is that COVID-19 is still widespread and as people move about, so does the disease.

Act accordingly. Myself, I leave home only when necessary. I wear a face covering, wash my hands, wipe down my car and other surfaces, and visit with family and friends only outside and at a distance. We get takeout, but I'm not ready for outdoor dining. And last I saw my youngest daughter was in March Pre-pandemic, she came home for 24 hours every other week just for a hug and for us to take her to dinner.

Our social calendars used to be as packed as our work ones. I miss much and would like to reclaim some of the old normal. But for my age and my health, this is my level of risk.

Perhaps, your risk tolerance is greater. Just be aware that anyone, including you, could be carrying the virus and spreading it. So wear a face covering and patronize only places that require them. Thank you.

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Med Beat: Here's why we don't tell you every restaurant and place there is an outbreak of COVID-19 - Roanoke Times