You ’ve Tested Positive for COVID-19. Who Has a Right to Know?

A novel social ritual is emerging along with the novel coronavirus: sharing the news that one has COVID-19. Actor Tom Hanks did it on Twitter with folksy fatalism and a promise that he and his wife, actor Rita Wilson, who also tested positive, would follow the advice of medical professionals. Actor Daniel Dae Kim did it in a lengthy straight-to-camera video, which included admonishments against Asian-American racism that has spread along with the virus. Non-celebrities have shared stories through interviews and social media, including oxygen-tank selfies. As the number of confirmed cases mounts, along with the likelihood of people nearly everywhere being exposed to this highly transmissible disease, it raises the question: Is there a best way to do this? If you test positive for COVID-19, who has a right to know? The short answer: It’s complicated. “All these ethical and moral decisions and your social obligations are all context-specific,” says Monica Schoch-Spana, a medical anthropologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. In times of pandemic, privacy concerns must be balanced with efforts to protect others, yet that equation is affected by infinite individual variables. Do you live in a multi-generational household? Are you a CEO with a fiduciary duty to shareholders? Are you in a part of the world that is already under mandatory stay-at-home orders or are cases just beginning to pop up in your community? Regardless, the...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news