TOPEKA —The Kansas Chamber of Commerce is urging Governor Kelly to reconsider her decision to disclose the business names and locations of active COVID-19 outbreaks across the state. The new policy started Wednesday. The cluster summary identifies 177 locations.
Click here to read the letter from the Kansas Chamber to Governor Kelly.
The governor's Sept. 2 media release announcing the decision, stated Kansas will follow White House guidance on releasing the information.
The Chamber's letter state's, "we were unable to find any guidance publicly released by the White House that recommends disclosing the names and locations of individual businesses. In fact, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests the opposite, that “businesses and employers are encouraged to coordinate with state and local health officials to obtain timely and accurate information to inform appropriate responses” (Source: Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers Responding to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), May 2020). This action by your administration is anything but an effort to coordinate with the business community."
“By sharing where the outbreaks take place, Kansans will be better informed about the threat of COVID-19 in their schools and communities, and will be better prepared to contain and stop the spread of the virus," Kelly said during her press conference on Labor Day.
Active locations will be released when there are five or more confirmed cases associated to the location, according to the governor's office. "For private businesses, the name of the business will only be released if there are 20 or more cases associated with the location. In Kansas, an outbreak is defined as two or more cases associated with one known exposure."
The Kansas Chamber said, "We have made every effort to serve as a resource to the administration during this pandemic, which is why we are so perplexed by this heavy-handed response. What is the ultimate goal of notifying the public of a breakout location? Employers are encouraged to follow CDC guidelines for confidentially notifying their employees of possible exposure. We have not heard of any businesses not following such protocol."