BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) says they are not required to tell the public if a restaurant worker tests positive for COVID-19, an official confirmed to CBS 42 Tuesday.
While some restaurants, like the Sonic in Leeds, have chosen to report COVID-19 cases among their staff, they are not legally required to disclose this information. ADPH says that the restaurants are under “no special reporting requirements as COVID-19 is not a foodborne illness.”
“So with COVID-19, in most cases, we would not necessarily make it public that this was part of a business,” Dr. Scott Harris with ADPH said. “They’re not required to inform us but we know about it because we received the test results on anyone who’s test positive.”
While ADPH investigates and is notified of all coronavirus cases in the state, they do not release information beyond what the county the cases are in.
ADPH says restaurants that close voluntarily are not required to reveal their reason for shutting down.
Dr. Harris says as COVID-19 spreads that policy could change.
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