Madison, Wiz. – Citing HIPAA laws, the Wisconsin Corrections Department leaves it up to the public to disclose the deaths of inmates of medical examiners and people who tested positive on Coron-19. That practice differs from neighboring states such as Minnesota and Michigan, both of which announce the deaths of a total of 19 COVID-inmates on their websites. As cases increase in Wisconsin prisons and at least three inmates die after a positive test, the DOC continues to cite HIPAA as the reason for not disclosing information about Covid-19 related deaths.
“It’s a ridiculous excuse. That’s not an excuse; “This is a cover-up,” said Gretchen Schuld, executive director of the Wisconsin Justice Initiative. “Under DOC standards, we never know how many people die on the highway each year.”
The latest figures, shown on the DOC’s website, show that 1,048 inmates are in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 and another 1,976 are in quarantine. No deaths have been reported since the deaths of two inmates undergoing treatment for Covid-1 for two months after reports of two deaths were received last month. Done at UW Hospital on
“Privacy laws and privacy protections prevent the Wisconsin DOC from sharing information related to the medical diagnoses of people in our care. A statement from DVC spokesman John Baird stated that “this is not the case with Covid-1 or any other instance of death of a person in our care.”
But HIPAA has not stopped DOCs in Michigan and Minnesota from publicly reporting COVID-19 to inmates.
“The MNDOC reports the number of Kovid deaths in our detained population, but not the names of those who died,” the spokesman said in a statement. “The fact that the MNDOC is reporting the number of deaths and not the names of those who have died is consistent with the Data Privacy Act.”
Sending a similar response to Michigan, simply stating that reporting COVID-19 deaths is not tantamount to violating the privacy of individuals. In Wisconsin, the DOC postpones individual medical examiners and coroners – which does not provide a complete picture. Medical examiners from Dan, Junau and Columbia Counties provided information about the death (or lack thereof, at New Lisbon and Columbia) until News 3 Now. But to the Wisconsin State Journal, a medical examiner from Winnebago County did not comment on any deaths at the Oshkosh facility, where another major outbreak is underway. A national review of states’ response to COVID-19 in their prison systems by the ACLU left Wisconsin with an F + grade in June (no state received more than D).
Absence leaves a gap of information for families, Schuld says.
“The public has a right to know if the DOC protects those people,” he said. “And of course the families and loved ones of those in prison have a right to know.”
Currently, OC kto in kettle moraine correction COVID-19 cases. on 6 446 active cases on DOC. Oshkosh 347 comes forward with an active case; Dodge and Colombia have 57 and 75, respectively.
In September, amid an outbreak at the same correctional facility, two inmates died after a positive test for Covid-19 – reports that Oct Oct. Did not come to the surface until 8. The death factor contributes.
Schuldt, meanwhile, said she has heard from inmates who are scared or receive mixed messages about the virus. “It’s time for the governor and the DOC to take some strong action to protect the people of the Wisconsin state prison,” he noted. (The governor’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.)
In April, DOC Secretary Kevin A. According to Kerr’s message, the DOC implemented measures such as releasing surveillance of more than 1,000 nonviolent perpetrators, and qualified those released in custody for “fixed earning release” supervision. It noted that safety precautions were established, including the separation of positive testers and those that were disclosed. According to a recent population report, the DOC currently has just over 21,000 inmates in adult institutions.
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