As Covid-19 test-and-trace efforts ramp up across the United States, health department employees are encountering protests, threats of violence and vandalism, NPR reports. NPR’s Will Stone published a piece on June 3rd about public health contract tracers being on the receiving end of threats from members of the communities they serve. Stone quotes an Okanogan County, Washington worker who told him “for the first time, people are hearing terms like ‘contact tracing’ and ‘case investigation,’ and those frighten them for some reason.” Jones was reportedly the target of a Facebook post warning community members about her office’s efforts and sparking fears of house arrest, the article said.
The NPR report discussed the backlash to contact tracing efforts in states such as Ohio, Colorado, and Georgia. It was reported on May 2 by Cleveland.com reporter Eric Heisig that a small protest occurred outside the residence of the Ohio Health Department Director, Dr. Amy Acton. Denver-area public health offices were closed after they were vandalized with rocks and graffiti. In Georgia, NPR reports, health department commissioner Kathleen Toomey has been assigned bodyguards in response to threats from citizen outrage over measures being taken to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Source:
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/03/868566600/local-public-health-workers-report-hostile-threats-and-fears-about-contact-traci
https://www.cleveland.com/open/2020/05/small-group-protests-ohio-coronavirus-restrictions-outside-health-department-director-dr-amy-actons-house.html