Natural State News

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson allowed certain businesses to reopen May 6 and these establishments must collect customer’s personal information and turn it over to state officials if asked as part of the state’s COVID-19 contact tracing program. 

Businesses allowed to open May 6 that were required to log client’s personal information were barber shops, body art and cosmetology businesses, massage therapy clinics and medical spas. 

Hutchinson said in a release these businesses could reopen under certain conditions including the collection of personal data of clients.

This has some groups concerned about personal privacy.

Contract tracing in Arkansas, under the terms of the governor and the state Department of Health, could have implications for personal privacy and some organizations have raised concerns.

“Contact tracing, in general, is a slippery slope whether done by governments or private companies," said Brenda Vassaur Taylor, principal attorney at BVT Law and co-founder of Conduit Action and Conduit News. "It will always be a threat to privacy when others can trace a third parties whereabouts with or without the knowledge of the one traced. ” 

Taylor said to her understanding contact tracing for Arkansas “is performed only with the permission of the person traced. However, I suspect few people actually know they can refuse to sign in at their local hairdresser, etc. or even what is being done with the list from the hair salon when they do sign in.”

Taylor said she has not been informed if Hutchinson's administration will revoke the licenses of any of the businesses, such as a hairdresser, if they refuse to comply with providing the government their client’s information.  Conduit published an article on the Hutchinson administration suspending the license of a concert venue, which was not allowed to open for another three days per his state orders.

Taylor said the potential breach of HIPAA laws is a concern.

“I am concerned regarding the breach of HIPAA laws regarding the potential for sharing health care information,” said Taylor. “As with the loss of any freedoms, often people willing give up what they think has already been taken away….caution is the answer and less reliance on government to protect us from all dangers….all protection comes at a cost. Whether we can properly educate our public on those costs when there are such cries of panic should be a big concern for freedom loving people everywhere.”

One business owner in a phone interview said she was concerned about the potential of the government asking for her clients’ information, but it has not happened yet as her shop has had no positive coronavirus cases.

“We’ve always kept track of who was in our shop,” said Christa Hudson, owner of Salt Stone Massage. “As far as contact tracing, I feel like it was maybe going to be finger-pointing but it hasn’t really been an issue. We’ve had no cases, and the government will only come down if it was in our shop. It has not affected our business at all.”

Hudson said her massage business is not mandated by HIPAA, but she does “take into account we collect people’s private information.”

Approximately 200 members of the Arkansas Department of Health, reported KATV, are doing contact tracing.  

https://katv.com/news/local/stopping-the-spread-how-contact-tracing-is-being-done-in-arkansas

However, that number is expected to rise by an additional 350 as the state has put out a bid for an additional 350 contact tracers for a one-year contract that is renewable up to seven years, Taylor said.