Opinion: Media coalition requests Whitmer release school outbreak details
Today a coalition of media groups announced they have sent this open letter go Gov. Gretchen Whitmer regarding COVID-19 outbreak data:
Dear Governor Whitmer;
We are writing to respectfully but urgently request you immediately marshal the resources of state government to compile and publicly release, on a consistent ongoing basis, vital public information regarding school related COVID outbreaks.
Right now across this great state, parents, educators and students are wrestling with whether to proceed with virtual or in-school learning in the face of the pandemic. For many families, this is among the most difficult decisions in this extraordinarily difficult year.
Yet, to date, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and local health departments have failed to provide the public with essential details on the exact location and severity of school related COVID outbreaks. On the verge of the new school year, MDHHS announced:
► The existence of 14 school related COVID outbreaks statewide well over a week ago. Since then we’ve learned of several more via social media and local word of mouth.
► Shortcomings in the state’s COVID tracking systems, including the system’s current inability to track exactly where these school-related outbreaks occur.
► A pledge to eventually release school-related COVID outbreak details once the tracking system is fixed and county health departments begin submitting to the state more details, including exact locations of COVID-impacted schools. MDHHS has indicated these fixes could take weeks.
In the meantime, county health departments, the first level of COVID reporting and tracking, continue to refuse media requests to release essential school-related outbreak details such as names and locations of impacted schools and number of known COVID cases. County health departments have cited confusion, lack of direction from state government, and a desire to protect schools from COVID-related stigma.
Respectfully, school related COVID outbreak information belongs to the taxpayers who pay for it, especially parents with school aged children. It is the duty of state and local health departments to protect public health. This includes the duty to inform the public of health risks transparently, rapidly, and fully — including the existence of COVID outbreaks in schools at the beginning of this very challenging school year.
Media organizations are filing Freedom of Information Act requests, but this is no time for drawn-out transparency battles.
We call on you to immediately provide Michigan families, students, educators, and taxpayers with the transparency they deserve. State government has more than 14,000 employees devoted to health and human services. Beyond the weeks-long fix of state computer tracking systems, we call on you to marshal state government resources to immediately, fully, consistently, and continually release school-related COVID outbreak details — including the names of impacted schools, their locations, and number of cases — to the full Michigan public.
In closing, we respectfully remind you that, at the beginning of the pandemic, you declared professional news-gathering organizations an essential public service. We can think of few media public services more essential and urgent in this moment than informing local communities on COVID outbreaks in schools.
Sincerely,
The Michigan School-Related COVID Outbreak Transparency Coalition
Bill Speer, Publisher
Alpena News
Bradley Massman, Editor
Big Rapids Pioneer
Stephen Henderson, Project Executive
Bridge Detroit
John Bebow, President and CEO
Bridge Michigan and Center for Michigan
Chris Huckle, Publisher
Cadillac News
Kelly Root, Executive Editor
Crains Detroit Business
Teresa Brandell, Publisher
Crawford County Avalanche
Peter Bhatia, Editor and Vice President
Detroit Free Press
Gary Miles, Editor and Publisher
Detroit News
Julie Stafford, Publisher
Greenville Daily News
John Minnis, Publisher
Grosse Pointe News
Eric Hamp, Publisher
Houghton Lake Resorter and Roscommon County Herald News
Eric Young, Editor
Huron Daily Tribune
Tanya Whitaker, Editor
Independent-Dundee
James Brown, Publisher
Yale Expositor
Beth Konrad, President
SPJ Detroit Chapter
Stephanie Angel, Editor
Lansing State Journal, Livingston County Press and Argus, Battle Creek Enquirer, Port Huron Times-Herald
John Elchert, Publisher
Leelanau Enterprise
Mike Reitz, Executive Vice President
Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Jeff Payne, Managing Editor
Macomb Daily News
Lisa McGraw, Vice President
Michigan Coalition for Open Government
James Tarrant, Executive Director
Michigan Press Association
Kate Hessling, Editor
Midland Daily News
John Hiner, Vice President of Content
MLive
Craig Barnt, Publisher and Editor
Pinconning Journal
Larry Sobczak, Publisher and Editor
Record-Washington Township
Wes Mauer, Publisher
St. Ignace News
Dirk Milliman, Publisher
Three Rivers Commercial News
Paul Heidbreder, Publisher
Nate Payne, Editor
Traverse City Record Eagle