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On 21 March 2020, a local Hindi newspaper, in Ajmer, Rajasthan, carried a report on 46 individuals who had been quarantined by the state health department. Not only did paper mention the names of local residents who had recently returned from a trip abroad, it even published their addresses.
Soon after the news item appeared, health activists in Rajasthan, led by Jan Swastha Abhiyan, wrote a letter to the chief minister Ashok Gehlot, cautioning him about the pitfalls of making patients' details public.
According to Chhaya Pachouli, a Jaipur-based activist and one of the signatories of the letter, such naming and shaming can have far-reaching repercussions in a country like India.
However, news reports have not been the only ones guilty of identifying patients. In Rajasthan, health department personnel went from door to door sticking posters informing people 'not to visit' homes of those who were under quarantine.
A poster such as this usually has four categories:
But activists feel that this kind of labelling, though well-intentioned, engenders exclusion of those who are fighting the deadly virus.
Activists have drawn parallels between the discrimination faced by HIV patients and those suffering from COVID-19 following the adoption of such methods by state governments.
Such large scale measures of pasting posters outside homes have not been restricted to Rajasthan. In Delhi too, they were seen outside those households under quarantine invoking a similar response of surprise and uneasiness.
When Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor tested positive for COVID-19 on 20 March, many took to Twitter demanding her arrest. A relative of hers who is currently employed as an anchor at a leading new channel was also targeted by online trolls.
The UP police later booked her under three sections– 269 (negligent acts likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 270 (malignant acts likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) – of the Indian Penal Code.
Karnataka's state health department recently received flak from people for uploading excel sheets on Twitter, revealing names and addresses of suspected COVID-19 cases.
Only the Odisha government has released an order so far, clearly stating that identities of patients should not be revealed. But this notification issued on behalf of the state health department is applicable only for maintaining confidentiality of patients in news reports.
Could there be better ways to control the spread of infection?
Instead of specifying personal details, a larger geographical area may be demarcated for the safety of others, activists advise.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)