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LANSING (AP) -- The Michigan health department has settled a lawsuit by releasing information about people in long-term care sites who died of COVID-19, attorneys for a journalist said Friday.
The department agreed to provide ages and dates of death but was unable to say whether the infection occurred at a long-term care facility "due to inadequate tracking," the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation said.
The group in March filed a lawsuit on behalf of Detroit-area journalist Charlie LeDuff, whose public records request was denied as exempt under state law.
"We stood up to Goliath and won," LeDuff said. "While I'm pleased that some of the records were released, the state's overall response is alarming and disappointing."
The health department said it worked with LeDuff to produce information that wouldn't identify anyone, although he said he wasn't seeking names.
The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation often takes aggressive action to get public records.