Ohio’s Pandemic-Era Death Records Can Remain Private, Court Says

An Ohio newspaper reporter asking the state for names, addresses, and causes of death of residents who died during the Covid-19 pandemic isn’t entitled to that information, the state’s highest court said Wednesday in a divided opinion.

"[T]he real issue in this case is whether the names and addresses of the decedents, when combined with information regarding their causes of death, are protected health information under” the state’s health privacy law, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Patrick Fischer wrote for the majority.

“Based on the plain, unambiguous language of the statute, they are.”

The information sought by now-former Columbus Dispatch ...