Michigan attorney general answers questions about state’s response to COVID-19

In this file photo, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel addresses the media during a news conference, Thursday, March 5, 2020, in Lansing. Nessel recently went online to answer a number of questions about the state's response to COVID-19. (AP Photo/David Eggert) less In this file photo, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel addresses the media during a news conference, Thursday, March 5, 2020, in Lansing. Nessel recently went online to answer a number of questions about the ... more Photo: Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Photo: Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Michigan attorney general answers questions about state’s response to COVID-19 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently went online to answer questions from Michigan residents about the state’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. Nessel answered questions her office has received through emails and social media posts made by the public.

1. Q: Should an employer notify co-workers that someone they work with has tested positive for COVID-19?

A: Yes. The Centers for Disease Control says that employers must notify co-workers when someone has tested positive for COVID-19. Because of privacy laws, special care should always be taken so any notice doesn’t disclose the identity of the individual who has tested positive.

2. Q: Can an employer send an employee home from work if they display symptoms associated with COVID-19?

A: Yes. An employer can tell someone not to come into work and can send someone home from work if they display symptoms associated with COVID-19, such as a fever, coughing or shortness of breath.

3. Q; Can a health department disclose that someone in a home has tested positive for COVID-19 to help first responders so that they can take protective measures to keep themselves safe?

A: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a federal law commonly known as HIPPA, generally prevents the disclosure of certain protected health information. However, protecting the health and safety of first responders like police officers, firefighters and paramedics is important, and it’s why the HIPPA privacy rule allows certain entities, like the health department, to disclose information about individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 under certain limited circumstances like the one in question. In this case, HIPPA would allow information about a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 to be shared with central dispatch and then communicated to first responders whenever those first responders may be at risk of a COVID-19 infection, or when a first responder can reasonably prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to health and safety. When sharing this information, reasonable efforts should be made to limit the information disclosed to the minimum necessary to accomplish the purpose of that disclosure. That can be achieved by only sharing the information with the first responders who are handling the call for assistance.

4. Q: What is being done to protect Michigan Department of Corrections inmates?

A: Measures are being taken to protect inmates in MDOC custody as well as staff who work at MDOC facilities from COVID-19. Protecting inmates from COVID-19 presents unique challenges, but the MDOC has been very aggressive in addressing these challenges and has already put in place several measures to help keep people safe. First, the MDOC has implemented a screening protocol to keep anyone who is sick or could be sick with COVID-19 out of the prisons. This protocol includes screening all MDOC employees for COVID-19 symptoms and requiring temperature checks before they can go into work. MDOC has also implemented aggressive cleaning measures within facilities to help reduce risk associated with the spread of COVID-19. Because COVID-19 is transmitted through close, personal contact, the MDOC has also reduced the number of inmates that can be together in gatherings, for example, by limiting the number of inmates that go to eat or attend a class at the same time. In order to be as proactive as possible, the MDOC has also created three makeshift hospitals to specifically care for any inmates who may test positive for COVID-19, and those medical facilities are already operating. MDOC staff is also reviewing the status of inmates within the jurisdiction of the parole board to determine who can be released. These decisions are made on a rolling basis so that anyone who can be released safely back into the public is released just as soon as a decision is made. The MDOC has halted all internal transfers between prisons to help reduce the possibility of exposure by introducing inmates who may have been exposed to COVID-19 into a new prison population. The governor has also suspended all transfers into the MDOC.

5. Q: Can golf courses reopen? Golfers can play while practicing social distancing.

A: No. The issue with golf courses remaining open to the public is not whether golfers can maintain a safe social distance. The problem is golf course employees are not critical infrastructure workers under the governor’s executive order, and that means they cannot go to a work site and perform job functions like cleaning bathrooms, handling cash or wiping down golf carts.

6. Q: Who should we report people ignoring the “stay-at-home” order to?

A: Violations should be reported to your local law enforcement agency. Call the non-emergency number, not 911.

7. Q: A mechanic for a trucking company was stopped on his way to work and police allegedly demanded a letter proving he was essential. Does an employer have to provide employees with letters?

A: Critical infrastructure workers like the one in the example above do not have to carry a letter proving they have been designated as essential by their employer. Some employers may be providing letters to their employees out of an abundance of caution but are not required under the governor’s order.

8. Q: Can a family member look in, wave and blow kisses back and forth through the window of the room of their loved one who is a resident in a nursing home?

A: Waving and blowing kisses is perfectly fine.

9. Q: Why are big-box retailers allowed to stay open?

A: First, whether a retailer can continue to have on-site operations depends on what exactly that business does, not whether it’s big or small. For example, hardware stores can remain open because they supply goods necessary for the construction of public infrastructure, such as projects that are necessary to maintain and improve the safety, sanitation and essential operations of a residence and projects that support critical infrastructure workers. Retailers allowed to remain open must implement social distancing practices and other mitigation measures to help protect employees and customers. The number of workers present on the premises should be restricted to no more than what is necessary to perform critical infrastructure functions. Employees should be encouraged to work remotely as much as possible. Workers and customers should be kept at least six feet from one another to the maximum extent possible, including when customers are standing in line. Employers should increase standards for facility cleaning and adopt policies to prevent workers from entering the premises if they display respiratory symptoms or have had contact with a person known to have COVID-19.

Visit www.mi.gov/coronavirus for more information and resources about things we call do to help stop the spread of COVID-19.