The coronavirus continues to create alarm in Meghalaya resulting in spread of fake news. The news that a Covid+ive patient from a particular locality with travel history who first tested negative and later tested positive for Covid, might have also infected his pregnant wife was on social media on Wednesday. The other fake news was that someone from the CM’s office and the NIC has tested positive. Rumours were afloat that another lockdown was imminent. Such fake news can create panic reactions and has to be strictly dealt with
The rule about whether or not the names of Covid infected persons should be revealed is very clear. Medical ethics demands that names of those testing Covid+ive should be withheld, unless like the famous actor Tom Hanks or Britain’s Prince Charles, they decide to make it public, possibly to lessen the stigmatisation aspect. In fact the very reason for keeping the names of the infected confidential is to prevent stigmatisation. Meghalaya had gone through the trauma of a Covid death and the subsequent unpleasant episodes. A repeat of that incident is unwarranted.
Hence those that blame the Government about lack of clarity in the manner in which information on Covid+ive persons are given by withholding names and places of residence seem to have forgotten that ugly episode. True there is fear and paranoia about the unknown and unpredictable virus. But it is also a fact that stigmatisation of the infected continues despite the Dorbar Shnongs as community institutions appealing to their constituents not to stigmatise those testing positive, because Covid-19 after all, is an infectious disease and anyone could get it.
Health experts worldwide are of the view that in times of a pandemic, privacy concerns must be balanced with efforts to protect others. However, that equation is affected by infinite individual variables. Of greater concern is the fate of health care workers not knowing if a person coming for treatment of some other disease might also be Covid+ive. Hence in most countries today, nurses and doctors will be operating under the assumption that everyone has COVID-19 at this point. But knowing it for certain can help them decide how to deploy limited resources like face masks, PPEs etc.
It will take a long time before citizens take on the social responsibility of publicly informing others that they are Covid+ive. That’s what people want from others but would they like it if their own names were made public? That’s the question that needs an honest answer.