Contact Tracing Eyed With Suspicion In NYC As No Known Plans Exist To Protect Privacy
Also, in Massachusetts, public health officials trying to gather personal data are reporting resistance and threats.
Politico:
Privacy Fears Threaten New York City's Coronavirus Tracing Efforts
Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers will be asked to disclose personal information this month as part of the city’s herculean Covid-19 tracing effort — but suspicions over how the government will use that information are threatening the city’s best chance to crawl out of its coronavirus lockdown. Contact tracing requires handing over intimate personal data — including home addresses, names of friends and relations — to strangers, many of whom were only recently trained and hired to collect the information. (Eisenberg, 6/4)
WBUR:
Local Public Health Workers Report Hostile Threats And Fears About Contact Tracing
Jones isn't alone: Other public health workers have encountered resistance, online harassment and even violent threats for conducting contact tracing and other containment strategies in their local communities. State and local health officials say it's a worrisome development as businesses reopen, and they try to build community trust for strategies that will help keep viral transmission in check. (Stone, 6/3)
