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Coronavirus April 15 Update: COVID-19 Tracking Tech Raises Privacy Concerns and Democrats Introduce Bills on Cobra Premiums, Protecting Fauci
Technology to track COVID-19 raises fears of mass surveillance
Technology companies and experts are coming up with a variety of new methods, applications and tools to track the spread of COVID-19 in the United States, systems that could greatly help government plan and cope with the novel coronavirus.
But these new monitoring systems are leaving lawmakers and privacy experts worried that the result could be widespread surveillance of the health data and private movements of Americans with no federal law in place governing data privacy.
The need for technology solutions not only to gauge the spread of the disease but also to identify and isolate the infected are fairly self-evident. The ideas and proposals for the use of new technologies range from systems that would draw data from diagnostic testing labs and hospitals to mobile phone-based apps that individuals would download voluntarily to identify themselves as infected to help others avoid contact.
Some of these new systems, experts say, could help bring the economy back faster. President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to lift federal restrictions on social gatherings and reopen the U.S. economy. But public health officials have warned that resuming normal activities too soon could be dangerous and lead to new outbreaks.
By Tuesday, more than 125,000 people had died from the coronavirus pandemic worldwide, as known infections exceeded 1.8 million. In the United States, deaths from the virus exceeded 23,000, with known infections totaling more than 598,000.
In the absence of a nationwide surveillance, monitoring and containment system, it would be hard to resume normal economic activity in the United States, a group of health experts warned in a paper published last week.
“Developing these capabilities in each state and region will enable the U.S. to move beyond extreme and disruptive physical isolation measures,” according to the paper authored by Mark McClellan, Scott Gottlieb, Farzad Mostashari, Caitlin Rivers and Lauren Silvis. The paper was published by the Duke University’s Margolis Center for Health Policy, and the authors are public health experts from different institutions.
Read more on RollCall.com.
California governor lays out framework for easing restrictions
California Gov. Gavin Newsom outlined a framework on Tuesday for slowly easing restrictions to open up the state's economy, but stopped short of committing to a specific timeline. Newsom, a Democrat, was optimistic that the roadmap would help determine when to modify the stay-at-home order and social distancing guidelines and would pull back the curtain on private conversations officials were having.
"While Californians have stepped up in a big way to flatten the curve and buy us time to prepare to fight the virus, at some point in the future we will need to modify our stay-at-home order," said Newsom. "As we contemplate reopening parts of our state, we must be guided by science and data, and we must understand that things will look different than before."
The guidelines will consider the ability to test and isolate those who have been exposed or who are positive, prevent infection in those most at risk for the virus and the ability of health systems to handle patient surges. It will also take into account the ability to develop therapeutics, if businesses and schools are able to support social distancing, and when to possibly reinstate stay-at-home orders and other restrictions in the future.
His announcement came a day after the state announced a plan to work with other West Coast governors, Jay Inslee, of Washington, and Kate Brown, of Oregon, to lift restrictions in their states, and hours before Trump walked back a Monday statement that he had complete authority to open the country.
On Tuesday, Trump said he would be authorizing governors to implement their own plans to reopen their states and that the administration will soon release guidance for lifting the social and economic restrictions that it recommends to slow the spread of the coronavirus. States would be in charge of implementing and overseeing any efforts to increase testing for contact tracing that may be needed to guide their plans to lift those restrictions, Trump noted.
EPA maintains emissions standards, despite respiratory illness concerns
The Environmental Protection Agency announced it will stick to its air standards for soot pollution, originally set in 2012, despite a recommendation from within the agency and calls from health experts to tighten rules.
The particulate matter is a particular concern during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it's linked to heart and lung conditions, Benjamin J. Hulac reports. A new study from Harvard University's public health school found a slight increase in the matter could trigger a 15 percent increase in the mortality rate of the disease over time.
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler dismissed the Harvard study as incomplete because it hasn't been peer-reviewed. He said the current threshold "is protective based on the scientific data that we have," though agency experts recommended tightening standards in 2019 "to prevent a substantial number of premature deaths."
The EPA has gotten pushback from a group of Democratic senators, as well as health and medical groups, including the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association and the American Thoracic Society, which criticized the announcement in a joint statement: "We know that particle pollution is deadly, and that the current limits do not sufficiently protect Americans—especially children with asthma and adults with lung and heart disease."
Congressional Democrats introduce bills on COBRA premiums, protecting Fauci
A group of House Democrats want to cover the cost of COBRA health insurance premiums for workers laid off due to the pandemic. House Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. Scott and Reps. Steven Horsford and Debbie Dingell introduced the bill, citing the high cost of COBRA premiums, which aren't shared by an employer (HR 6514).
The bill would cover 15 months of health premium payments for workers who are unemployed or furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers would be eligible for the benefit if they are affected by the crisis, starting March 1 and ending six months after the public health emergency, according to a summary.
"We must work together to keep down the cost of COBRA and ensure anyone laid off or furloughed can afford to get necessary healthcare and medicine they may need," Dingell said in a statement.
Another congressional Democrat introduced legislation aimed at the pandemic response in the White House -- specifically protecting the role of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci.
Under the bill from Sen. Edward J. Markey, President Donald Trump would only be able to fire Fauci, or the other 25 directors of the national research institutes and national centers that are part of the National Institutes of Health, for malfeasance, neglect of office or incapacity. Trump is currently able to fire the directors for any reason.