Post-it note left for woman diagnosed with COVID-19 reads no more mail delivery

[dalton99a]

https://www.kxan.com/investigations/post-it-note-left-for-woman-diagnosed-with-covid-19-reads-no-more-mail-delivery/

Post-it note left for woman diagnosed with COVID-19 reads no more mail delivery
by: Arezow Doost
Posted: May 11, 2020 / 12:16 PM CDT / Updated: May 11, 2020 / 05:24 PM CDT


Pamela Bilbo says a post-it notified her that she wouldn’t be getting mail due to COVID-19. (Pic Courtesy: Pamela Bilbo)

SMITHVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — Sitting in her kitchen, Pamela Bilbo described the fever and body aches. She said it’s a good day, because she can get out of bed.

“It comes in waves,” Bilbo explained “One day doing okay, a few hours later, you are down and out.” Bilbo, 65, said she tested positive for COVID-19 in April.

On Thursday, she said she found something in the mail that not only shocked her, but added to her stress.

“A little two inch by two inch post-it note from my carrier was in there,” explained Bilbo. “That said they could no longer deliver my mail, because someone had tested positive for COVID-19 at this address.”

[Buckeye_Democrat]

1. How did they know, I wonder?

Is that something the government is sharing with USPS?

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

14. Not sure how they would know

I know EMS, Police, and Fire are typically notified of information like this. Not sure why USPS would have that info though.

[herding cats]

21. The article says the local police told them to stop delivery.

Does HIPPA apply here? Even if state law gave the police the right to know, didn't they overreach here?!

[Buckeye_Democrat]

30. I don't know.

Maybe not during an "emergency" like this pandemic?


Edit: It was an error as described further down this thread.

[herding cats]

33. Not legal.

I live in Texas. The first responders have a right to patient information, but they can't share it outside of their system.

Someone broke the law here.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

34. Okay, it sure seemed illegal to me. But...

... it was apparently a mistake anyway, as described further down this thread.

[herding cats]

35. No, it's not a "mistake" by any means.

That's people here trying to knee jerk take the heat off the USPS. They're not involved here at all. This is a local issue not an issue about the USPS in any way, shape or form.

A person was betrayed by the Texas first responder system. That's the story here. The USPS has no part in this beyond some dumbass route carrier who decided to carry the water of the guilty parties here who betrayed their oaths and violated HIPPA.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

36. Aw, jeez.

That's illegal and wrong then.

[herding cats]

37. Completely.

Heads will roll over this offense. Follow the story and see if I'm not correct.

[herding cats]

41. I want to apologize to you.

I reread my words and I'm concerned you may think my ire was directed at you. It's not in anyway.

I'm just shocked so many people here (not you specifically) didn't see the obvious misuse of power by the first responders. Which is literally what the story is about. But, I live in Texas and know the laws here. So, I have an edge even before reading the article.

Peace to you.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

43. No worries!

I wasn't offended at all!

I'm sorry that I didn't research it further, before posting.

[Cha]

40. Wondering the same?

[Ferrets are Cool]

2. I will not believe this until I see proof positive

too many questions that have not been answered.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

4. Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if it's a ploy...

... to detract people from being tested.

Time will tell.

[pnwmom]

6. This is a report from a local news station, so it appears to be legit.

However, the situation has been resolved.

[herding cats]

22. Maybe it's resolved?

Did the police have the right to tell the postal workers to stop delivery? I'm not sure here.

It reads as if the local police shared private information they shouldn't have.

[pnwmom]

27. The police said they didn't tell the Post Office to stop the delivery.

And the Post Office is saying it shouldn't have happened.

So it's resolved in the sense that the mail will go on.

[herding cats]

32. Yes, but someone in the first responder system leaked the information to the postal carrier.

This isn't over yet. Violations were made and people still have to pay for their mistakes. It's not the USPS, this isn't on them. But, someone violated this woman's civil rights and they should pay for it.

We all have rights. Be we urban or rural citizens, we all share the same civil rights and this person's were violated.

[napi21]

3. Does that mean the czrrier can decide to stop ndelivering tour mail? If som it's the 1st I've

heard of it!

[Lefta Dissenter]

5. Sounds like the situation was rectified,

Though it should never have happened in the first place. I hope Ms. Bilbo fares well and has a full recovery.

[herding cats]

38. Gah! How is it rectified, her private information was leaked via first responders to a USPS carrier?

Not rectified. Not at all!

Her civil rights were violated and there needs to be justice for her.

I feel like banging my head against a wall. The USPS is not at fault at all here people. No one ever implied they were but people have a difficult time comprehending what they read. It was someone within the first responders who violated her rights and then some local route carrier followed their lead.

This whole story, while massive and shocking, is a story about Texas laws being sidestepped and circumvented to target people who are victims of COVID-19.

[LAS14]

7. How does delivering mail expose the carrier to the recipient's virus??????????????????/

[ProfessorGAC]

8. Looks Like Perhaps Rural

AFAIK, rural carriers pick up outgoing mail when delivering.
Perhaps that's what this is about.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. Even so, the potential threat

is vastly overstated. Vastly.

[ProfessorGAC]

13. Agreed

But, fear is a powerful inhibitor to rational thought.
If the carrier is scared they might act rashly.
Hopefully the postmaster straightened it out, including informing the carrier as to the extreme unlikelihood of being infected this way.

[abqtommy]

9. snark on: Oh Noes! If only there were some efficient way to spray disinfectant

around/inside a mailbox... snark off

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

10. There's something that doesn't smell right here.

Delivering mail to a mailbox like that represents zero risk to the carrier putting the mail in.

Plus, I somehow don't think that the USPS would deliver that kind of news by post-it.

Call me skeptical.

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. Yes, call me the same.

[Totally Tunsie]

12. So she re-created the scene to take a photo of it?

She most likely wouldn't have read the Post-it note while it was still in her mailbox.

Skeptical.

[lostnfound]

46. Agreed. Nt

[highplainsdem]

15. Story says local police told the post office to stop delivering mail to her. That's been corrected.

https://www.kxan.com/investigations/post-it-note-left-for-woman-diagnosed-with-covid-19-reads-no-more-mail-delivery/

“My mailbox is out on the street away from my house. I called Smithville Post Office and they couldn’t tell me why except Bastrop Police told them to stop my mail,” Bilbo explained. “I don’t know why they thought they had the right to shut my mail service off.”

After not hearing anything from the post office Bilbo contacted KXAN investigators for help.

“The notice to the customer regarding their mail delivery was left in error,” explained Communications Specialist Becky Hernandez in an email to investigator Arezow Doost. “We apologize for any inconvenience that may have been experienced by our customer. As soon as local postal managers were made aware, they took steps to resolve the issue and have confirmed that mail delivery has resumed.”

-snip-

Bilbo got a stack of mail over the weekend with another post-it from her carrier reading “I stand with you.”

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

18. The notice was left in error.

Hmmmm.

[crickets]

20. What police department thinks they have the right to do that to anyone?

Since when would the post office let the police stop someone's mail?

Bastrop Interim Assistant Chief of Police Vicky Steffanic tells KXAN that they did not give such guidance and they don’t have jurisdiction in Smithville or over the Post Master.

Seems the cops are claiming they didn't do it/don't know what happened. So was this really local post office shenanigans after all? Over COVID, and just for this one person? The whole thing is strange.

[herding cats]

23. How would the post office even know if the local first responders didn't tell them?

Those who know a diagnosis are limited to first responders per the state law. Someone broke HIPPA and state laws to notify the postal service there.

Someone is lying here, and it's a person who had first responder inside information. Which wasn't the USPS workers.

[crickets]

24. Good points.

I don't like to blame the post office either, but using a post-it note instead of a form (and there's a form for everything) seems odd. I don't know - it sort of smells like a personal vendetta. I'm glad she got it straightened out though.

[herding cats]

25. It's a small town. I know them too well.

This smells like locals playing fast and loose with information they had no right to be sharing.

This is, to my eyes, definitely not an official USPS decree, but it does need more looking into. Violations appear to have been made here by at least on department.

[crickets]

26. Mail tampering is a felony. Small town politics can get real entertaining real quick, eh? ;-) nt

[herding cats]

29. Yes, that they can.

I'm definitely following this story.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

31. Oh, okay.

[Skittles]

17. why would you make such people LEAVE to go get their mail?

that makes no sense

[herding cats]

28. Red areas are scared, too.

They won't admit it, but this is proof. This is a tiny community of less than 4K in a rural red area.

Let that all sink in and then reread the article. They're scared even while they play denialist in public.

[Midnight Writer]

19. Post It note is the tell. The Postal Service has procedures to halt Mail delivery to an address.

There are official notices that detail the reason for non delivery and gives the customer a contact number.

You can see from the picture of the note that it only has three words on it, no explanation.

[Cha]

42. That's what I was thinking. "A postit"?

[Cha]

39. Wow.. can't mail carriers wear gloves and masks to

deliver to her address and then sanitize?

Poor thing

[Midnight Writer]

44. Apparently they have been delivering. The picture shows mail in the box. Something's screwy here.

[Cha]

45. Definitely. Now that I've read more.. I see it

can't be taken at face value.