An NYC suburb is subpoenaing partygoers who won't cooperate with coronavirus contact tracers, and it shows the legal measures authorities could take to contain outbreaks

• Officials in a New York county have issued subpoenas to eight people who refused to comply with contact tracers after attending a party linked to a cluster of coronavirus cases.
• Contact tracers tried to call the partygoers to track down people who may have been exposed to the virus, but they were hung up on, ignored, and lied to, according to Rockland County's health commissioner.
• Officials warned that anyone who fails to comply will face a fine of $2,000 per day, for each day they refuse to cooperate.
• The public's lack of cooperation with contact tracers is becoming a common theme — New York City contact tracers said more than half of people they contacted refused to provide information.
• State and county officials have assured the public that their information is kept confidential, and will not get them into trouble.
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When public health officials linked a large house party on June 17 to a new cluster of coronavirus cases in a New York City suburb, Rockland County's contact tracers hit the phones, intending to track down anyone who may have been exposed to the virus.

But as they began calling up party-goers, they found themselves ignored, hung up on, and even lied to, according to the county health commissioner, Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert. It's forcing authorities to crack down on people who refuse to speak to contract tracers.

"My staff has been told that a person does not wish to — or have to — speak to my disease investigators. They hang up, they deny being at the party, even though we have found their name from another party attendee, or a parent provides us with the information," Ruppert said at a press conference Wednesday.

Ruppert said the West Nyack party was hosted by a person who was symptomatic and knew they were ill. Between 50 and 100 people attended, and eight guests have since tested positive for COVID-19. The party's attendees were all in their 20s, Ruppert said, and some had attended two other nearby parties and intended to go to another July 4th party.

Ruppert expressed shock that in some cases, when contact tracers started making calls, the partygoers' parents intervened and gave false information.

"Sometimes parents answer for their adult children, and promise that they have been home consistently when they have not been," Ruppert said. "This must stop."

Eight partygoers have received subpoenas, and will have to pay $2,000 each day they fail to comply with investigators

In light of the partygoers' resistance, Ruppert announced that the county has already issued eight subpoenas to those who refused to cooperate with contact tracers, and will continue to use them if necessary.

"Failure to comply will be costly, at $2,000 per day," she said. "These civil fines will be declared to those who ignore us or refuse to comply. This is a serious public health issue — a deadly one."

Rockland County Executive Ed Day urged the public to comply with contact tracers, noting that they would not get in trouble for cooperating.

"Nobody is in trouble. Nobody's who's been at a party is going to have any issue with this," he said.

Ruppert said this is not the first time the county has used subpoenas amid a public health crisis. Last year, the county used them during a measles outbreak and "gained excellent compliance," Ruppert said.

It's unclear whether other cities or counties in the US have used similar subpoenas to force compliance with contact tracers. But the public's lack of cooperation with contact tracers isn't limited to West Nyack — New York City has been hiring thousands of people for the job, but the tracers have struggled to convince New Yorkers to share information.

In the first three weeks of the city's contact tracing program, which began June 1, contact tracers successfully reached 94% of those who tested positive for coronavirus. But just 42% of those people agreed to tell the tracers who they were in contact with.

Contact tracers in New York state are tasked with not only tracking down people who may have been exposed to the virus, but also advising people to quarantine and offering resources for essential services.

New York state's website also indicates that that contact tracers keep people's names private and ensure any information given is kept "strictly confidential and will be treated as a private medical record."

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