Response Matrix - OMB Comment - Illness Response

Response to OMB Comments - -Illness Response Package

4/24/09

OMB Comment	DGMQ Response
Recommend using illness-defining language consistently across forms (e.g. communicable disease (Attachment I, J), disease of public health importance (Attachment K), condition of public health interest (Attachment K), a communicable disease of public health significance (Attachment F). Often categories such as the latter two are defined in regulation - was it the intent of these forms to identify specific conditions that may be listed in regulation? If so, these definitions should be provided in instructions accompanying the forms.	Text has been updated to reflect consistent language pertaining to illnesses – “Communicable disease or condition of public health interest”.
Recommend providing more thorough guidance on who should be supplying the information for these forms (e.g. the ill person? a relative? a traveling companion? a stranger?) and who should be filling them out (e.g. ship's doctor, Quarantine Officer, border patrol, etc).	Addressed. Added statement to clarify that information is collected from the individual by Quarantine Station staff. Added additional statement to Appendix F to clarify if the individual is not able to respond, then Quarantine Staff will solicit information from relative or other traveling companion.
Recommend adding intro language to Land Border form (attachment K)	No instructions needed as Land Border form is completed by CDC/DGMQ staff
What role does DHS have in administering these forms? or making any kind of determination based on these forms?	None. Responsibility falls with DGMQ
Who are "Quarantine Officers" (described in Supporting Statement, page 3)? (CDC employees?)	Quarantine Officers are staff of the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ ) who conduct activities at Quarantine Station
Please cite the authority for collecting personally identifiable information. (Supporting statement, page 3)	Addressed. Added: This information is collected under the Privacy Act system notice 09200171, “Quarantine and Traveler Related Activities, Including Records for Contact Tracing Investigation and Notification under 42 CFR Parts 70 and 71’, published in the Federal Register, Vol. 72, No. 238, December 13, 2007, pp. 70867-70872
Although this is listed as a new collection, it seems that this information has been collected previously and been fed into a surveillance system ("the Quarantine Activity Reporting System (QARS), a secure web-based system housed at DGMQ Headquarters, and used by all Quarantine Stations for surveillance and tracking" - Attachment F). What is DGMQ? and it is overseen by CDC?	DGMQ is CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ). We are confused why OMB refers to this icr as a new collection. The Part 1 worksheet that we submitted identifies this icr as an “existing collection in use without an OMB Control Number.”