By ARGYLL GEDUCOS
Government has ordered the mandatory disclosure of the personal information of positive COVID-19 cases to make contact-tracing easier.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has adopted the policy of mandatory public disclosure of personal information relating to positive COVID-19 cases to enhance the contact-tracing efforts of the government.
“Para po matulungan ang contact-tracing efforts ng ating pamahalaan, mandatory o required na po ang paglalahad ng personal na impormasyon pagdating sa ating mga COVID-19 cases,” he said.
The Office of Civil Defense, in coordination with other agencies and local government units, has been tasked to lead the contact-tracing efforts of the government.
The OCD and the Department of Health has been directed to enter into a data-sharing agreement in accordance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act.
Under the law, a person’s health condition is classified as sensitive personal information that can only be used with the consent of the person or patient.
On March 28, the IATF ordered all health facilities to get the consent of infected patients before disclosing their identities to the public.
“Pakiusap po para matulungan ‘yung contact-tracing, sa lahat ng mga public health facilities paki-ask ng permission ng mga COVID-19 patients if they are willing to disclose their identities to the public,” Nograles had earlier said.
Since COVID-19 entered the country, the DoH has never disclosed the names of patients and only identified them through numbers. It only included in its reports their gender, age, travel history, and other medical concerns.