Tanya Mendis
September 19,2005
Health inspectors still have not explained why they won’t give the location of a confirmed case of Hepatitis A at a restaurant in Walker County, Georgia.
McDonald’s corporate office confirmed the location and says the threat has been removed, the question remains however, why would the PUBLIC health department refuse to share important information with the public?
Health department representative Logan Boss says the reason the department is still mum is because they did what they were supposed to do: protect the public from health risks.
But some people question why the health deparment won’t talk.
“I would think we have to ask the individual at the health department the reason for not disclosing it,” says Greg Edwards, who had not heard about the hepatitis case. “There must be some reason for that.”

NewsChannel 9 has done exactly that: submitting a formal Georgia Open Records request asking “As required by law, please cite in writing the specific statutory exemption upon which your department is withholding this information.”
The department of health is consulting attorneys before they respond. But Boss did admit the department has not issued a warning.
That did not sit well with one loyal restaurant customer who also called the health department and was denied the information she asked for.
“They have a responsibility to let the public know and they did not so I feel like they let me down,” says Chickamauga resident Barbara Moss.
It’s been three weeks since the department of health found the case of Hepatitis-A, but the department of health still has not issued a message to the public.
Even the McDonald’s corporation has confirmed the incident in a letter to Newschannel 9, and said that the Chickamauga location is cooperating with health inspectors.
Boss told us the public health department did not disclose the information to the public, because they do not want to cause unnecessary concern.
But people we talked to agree it’s too late, and say now it just looks like the health department has something to hide.
“I would like to think that the city government would not be covering things up,” Edwards says.
Concerned parent Samantha Regalado agrees. “You just never know what’s gonna happen and I don’t want to be left in the dark knowing this could happen again.”