Earlier this week, a 4th District Court judge ruled that Utah County needed to reveal the names of two businesses that had COVID-19 outbreaks in April. The decision was a victory for transparency and its role in public safety.
The Deseret News joined KSL-TV’s lawsuit last month after Utah County officials refused to disclose the names of the businesses whose employees accounted for 68 coronavirus cases. Such concealment is a clear violation of Utah’s public records law, and we hope the judge’s ruling signals an increased need for complete public information as the state continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public safety should be the top priority during a global health crisis. Residents ought to know where COVID-19 hot spots flare up. The role of a news organization is to inform the public as a trusted voice of light and truth, and we expect that same clarity from all organizations, both public and private.
Of concern in this case is that local health departments were made aware of the specific businesses well before the public was. Deseret News reporter Katie McKellar writes, “While Utah County officials refused to release the records to the public, emails obtained through an open records request show a Utah County health staffer thought the information was important enough to circulate to other health department employees to keep them safe.
“‘This is sensitive information so please keep it within the office,’ wrote Tyler Plewe, bureau director for the county health department’s food safety and emergency response. ‘I wanted to let you know of these locations so that you feel safe if you are heading out into the public.’”
Shouldn’t others have had the right to know so they, too, could feel safe heading out into the public? Instead, it took weeks and a judicial ruling for county officials to release the names.
Why would a health department willingly warn department employees of the potential risk but refuse to do the same to the general public? Protecting Utahns is their primary responsibility; we’d argue it’s their only responsibility in the midst of a pandemic.
A separate lawsuit from one employee targets the business for failing to implement safety measures after rumors spread of COVID-19 transmission among workers. The employee was infected, as was her disabled daughter, who was hospitalized.
Such negligence is harmful to the public and to the companies’ employees. It’s also harmful to an environment of cooperation and trust.
We stand with 4th District Judge Christine Johnson, who said, “As far as the public’s interest, generally, I do believe the public has a significant and weighty interest in knowing about COVID-19 outbreaks, to the extent where they happen, who they happen to. ... I think we’re all in a better position to understand how to keep ourselves healthy if that information is transparently available.”
As infection rates in our state continue to climb, increased caution and transparency will be essential to making sure Utah doesn’t take a giant leap backward. Utahns should expect all stakeholders — public and private — to contribute to an atmosphere of cooperation, clarity and careful urgency.