N.Y. Public Health Law § 2180: Definitions

§ 2180. Definitions. As used in this title the following terms shall

have the following meanings:

1. "Contact tracing" means COVID-19 case investigation and

identification of case individuals and contact individuals.

2. (a) "Contact tracer" and "contact tracing entity" means an

individual or entity employed by or under contract with the state, a

local government, a state or local governmental entity, or an agent

thereof, to conduct contact tracing, engage in contact tracing, or

receive contact tracing information.

(b) A contact tracer or contact tracing entity shall not include a

service provider that is a non-governmental entity that is employed by

or under contract with a contact tracing entity or an agent thereof,

that receives, transmits, maintains, stores, or hosts contact tracing

information at the direction of a contact tracer or contact tracing

entity so long as such service provider's access to the information is

exclusively limited to the maintenance of the information and the

contact tracer or contact tracing entity has the ability to delete and

manage contact tracing information as provided by this chapter, law,

rules or regulations. A service provider under this paragraph shall be

referred to in this title as a "designated non-governmental entity." A

service provider that does not meet the requirements of this paragraph

and would otherwise be subject to paragraph (a) of this subdivision

shall be a contact tracing entity.

3. "Contact tracing information" means any information that includes

or can reveal the identity of any case individual or contact individual,

and any COVID-19-related information or test results, received or

collected for the purpose or in the course of contact tracing.

4. "Contact individual" means an individual who has or may have come

in contact with a case individual or who has or may have been exposed to

and possibly infected with COVID-19.

5. " Case individual" means an individual with a confirmed or probable

diagnosis of COVID-19.

6. "COVID-19" means infection with or the disease caused by the severe

acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

7. "Immigration authority" means any entity, officer, employee, or

government employee or agent thereof charged with or engaged in

enforcement of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, including

the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States

Department of Homeland Security, or United States Customs and Border

Protection, or agent, contractor or employee thereof, or any successor

legislation or entity.

8. "De-identified" means, in relation to contact tracing information,

that the information cannot identify or be made to identify or be

associated with a particular individual, directly or indirectly and is

subject to technical safeguards and policies and procedures that prevent

re-identification, whether intentionally or unintentionally, of any

individual.

9. "Law enforcement agent or entity" means any governmental entity or

public servant, or agent, contractor or employee thereof, authorized to

investigate, prosecute, or make an arrest for a criminal or civil

offense (except a designated civil offense), or engaged in any such

activity, but shall not mean the department, the commissioner, a health

district, a county department of health, a county health commissioner, a

local board of health, a local health officer, the department of health

and mental hygiene of the city of New York, or the commissioner of the

department of health and mental hygiene of the city of New York. As used

in this subdivision, "designated civil offense" means a civil offense or

offenses designated by the commissioner (or the commissioner of the New

York city department of health and mental hygiene in the case of contact

tracing information collected by or under authority of the New York city

department of health and mental hygiene or the New York city health and

hospitals corporation).

10. "Support" means resources or services provided to an individual to

enable such individual to safely quarantine or isolate, including

grocery, meal or pharmacy delivery, laundry services, child or elder

care, pet walking, assistance with telephone, internet, or other

communication services or devices, health and mental health services,

legal services, provision of appropriate living space for individuals

who cannot isolate or quarantine at home, and income replacement.

"Support" may also include support provided to other individuals for

whom the individual commonly provides those resources or services.

11. "Permitted purpose" means:

(a) disclosure to appropriate health care providers or their personnel

for the purpose of the clinical diagnosis, care or treatment of the case

individual or contact individual who is the subject of the information,

where an emergency exists and the individual is in immediate need of

medical attention and an attempt to secure consent would result in delay

of treatment which would increase the risk to the individual's life or

health;

(b) facilitating a legally-authorized public health-related action,

where and only to the extent necessary to protect the public health in

relation to COVID-19; or

(c) use or disclosure of contact tracing information to pursue a legal

action in relation to a violation of this title; provided that

disclosure shall be subject to in camera review and approval by the

court, and, if the use is initiated by a party other than the case

individual or contact individual who is the subject of the contact

tracing information, the information must be highly material and

relevant for the purpose.

12. "Covered entity" means a governmental entity or a place of public

accommodation, resort or amusement, as defined in section two hundred

ninety-two of the executive law.

13. "Physical immunity passport" means a credential that identifies an

individual as having received a COVID-19 vaccine or a COVID-19 test

result that does not rely on a digital or electronic device. Physical

immunity passports include, but are not limited to, pieces of paper

denoting immunity status.