Stigma and confidentiality - Why Covid-19 locations are not disclosed

CORONAVIRUS | Since the first cases of Covid-19 were reported in Malaysia, members of the public have been clamouring to know where the patients might have worked or lived.

The call has only intensified as more cases were reported in the country, and rumours circulated on what locations may have been affected.

When asked on this, however, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah stood firm and reiterated that medical professionals cannot disclose such information.

“If the patients want to reveal (information), they can do so, but not medical personnel,” he said.

He explained this would not only be a violation of rules regarding patient confidentiality, the resulting stigma could also be long-lasting.

“Although the place may have been disinfected, there is still stigmatisation,” he told reporters at a media engagement session in Putrajaya yesterday, citing several examples.

In instances where the identities of Covid-19 patients have become known, Nor Hisham said they and their families had faced stigmatisation too.

He cited an incident where patients have been placed under mandatory home surveillance, but the children were not required to do the same.

“Although they were quarantined, their children were not allowed to attend schools even if they were negative,” he said.

For the record, the Health Ministry’s guidelines on Covid-19 stipulates that people should be quarantined at home immediately for 14 days, once health officials identify them as a close contact of a laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 case through interviews with the patients.

This is if the close contact shows no signs of illness, and their home environment is suitable for the quarantine.

Close contacts will be admitted to hospital if they become sick during the quarantine period, or if laboratory tests confirm they have Covid-19 (whether they show symptoms or not).

According to a joint report by the World Health Organisation and China, less than five percent of close contacts subsequently test positive for the disease. This is in line with figures being released by health authorities around the world.

In Malaysia, out of 2,686 people that have been tested up to yesterday, only 117 people (4.35 percent) tested positive for Covid-19.

Meanwhile, in the Malaysian Medical Council’s guidelines on patient confidentiality, it is stipulated that patient information shall be regarded as confidential even if it is already publicly known.

It also reminds medical practitioners that patients can be identified from information other than names and addresses, such as by using a combination of other information such as their age, occupation, and the general area where they live. - Mkini