Orissa HC Directs Not To Disclose Identity Of Covid-19 Patients

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court on Saturday directed the state government to make sure to not reveal the identities and details of COVID-19 patients and suspects.

“(The) State authorities are directed to ensure that identity of any person, who is admitted to COVID centres-any Government Hospital/private Hospital or any Quarantine centre in the State, found infected with Coronavirus (COVID-19) is not disclosed/publicized either in any intra-departmental communication or in any media platform including social media,” ordered the division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice BR Sarangi.

The interim direction has come in a PIL filed by Advocate Ananga Kumar Otta, seeking high-level enquiry against the persons who revealed the identity of COVID patients in the state. The petitioner also made reference to an incident where a 37-year-old man hanged himself to death in the Una district of Himachal Pradesh. Some villagers suspected him to be suffering from COVID-19 despite testing negative for it and he was dropped at his residence by the health officials from the quarantine centre.