IATF adopts mandatory public disclosure of info on COVID-19 patients
MANILA, Philippines — The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases on Sunday morning said it will require the public disclosure of identities and diagnoses of patients with the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
According to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, also task force spokesperson, the Department of Health and the Office of Civil Defense will enter a data-sharing agreement that will also strengthen the health department's contact tracing efforts to quell the spread of the virus and flatten the curve of infections.
"The IATF adopts the policy of mandatory public disclosure of personal information relating to positive COVID-19 cases to enhance the contact-tracing efforts of the government," Nograles said. "The DOH and the OCD are directed to enter into a data-sharing agreement in accordance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act."
According to a primer by the National Privacy Commission, the act "protects the privacy of individuals while ensuring [and regulating] free flow of information."
At the onset of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, the IATF first asked health facilities to secure the permission of patients before making their identities public.
It is yet unclear what details about a COVID-19 patient the government will make public.
'No order to conceal deaths'
Nograles also said that the Philippine Statistics Authority would be allowed to operate "at a capacity necessary to conduct data gathering and survey activities related to COVID-19, including those related to registration [and the] implementation of the National ID System."
At the same online briefing, Nograles echoed the health department's sentiment that there is no government order to not report COVID-19 fatalities.
Veteran broadcast journalist Arnold Clavio on Saturday posted a claim on his Instagram account that a Metro Manila hospital was being ordered to conceal its COVID-19 death toll.
“In a Metro Manila hospital, there’s an order not to count the number of fatalities due to COVID-19. According to a frontliner, the situation is harrowing since corpses are scattered in the hospital’s hallway,” Saturday's post by Clavio read in Filipino.
Clavio did not name the hospital allegedly involved but Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has said Clavio disclosed the hospital to him and that the department will investigate.
"We wish to respond to involves allegations that the government has given directives to suppress information regarding COVID-19 fatalities. In simple terms, that is not true," Nograles said of the alleged order to hide the deaths.
"This outbreak concerns all of us, so we recognize that it is our responsibility to give you the facts, all the facts, and nothing but the facts. You deserve nothing less," he added.
On Saturday, the department also recorded another 233 more local cases of the new pathogen, bringing the official tally to 4,428 from the previous count of 4,195.
The lockdown of mainland Luzon, expected to go on for at least another three weeks, has been in effect for over a month, severely restricting movement and largely leaving vulnerable sectors grappling with uncertainty indoors. — with reports by Ratziel San Juan
If you believe you have come into possible contact with infected patients, you may be directed to the proper office of the Department of Health for advice through the following lines: (632) 8651-7800 local 1149/1150 or (632) 165-364. You may also opt to call the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine at (02) 8807-2631/ 8807-2632/ 8807-2637. The general public has also been encouraged to forward its concerns to the Health Department's dedicated 24/7 COVID-19 hotlines (02) 894-COVID and 1555 (free for all subscribers)
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