Privacy of suspected COVID-19 patients breached

In a major breach of privacy, the Karnataka health department released personal details of all those quarantined in the state in the wake of COVID-19 virus to the media, complete with names, mobile numbers, temporary and permanent addresses.

These included details of 23 passengers on the bus and 43 passengers on the flight with the infected Telangana techie. The name of the techie’s company and details of his 26 colleagues who are under surveillance and working from home are part of the list, including their CEO.

The list also includes contact numbers of those who returned from Wuhan and other parts of China, six people who were aboard cruise ship Diamond Princess from Japan, details of 569 people under home isolation due to travel to affected countries.

The health commissioner said this was a serious matter and an enquiry will be initiated into it, and action will be taken.

A female HR executive of the company was aghast on knowing that the health department had released their contacts to the media and said, “I will complain to the health minister that we are getting calls because of this leak.”

The CEO of the company where the techie worked was annoyed at being contacted and asked if his company staff are back at work or were still working from home. Another person on the list said, “I am not an employee and have not been quarantined at home. I had just visited the infected techie’s office and my name was there on the list because the department traced all those who had come in contact with the techie.”

Another employee said that employees were still operating from home and did not know when they would get back to work.

Colleague discharged

Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar told reporters that only three people were still at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases and that the flatmate and the techie’s colleague had been discharged.

A 14-year-old boy was admitted at Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences and another at Udupi. The minister said all other messages on social media about cases elsewhere in the state were false and that they are in talks with the cybercrime police to curb
misinformation.