The Orissa High Court has directed the state government to ensure that the identities and other details of Covid-19 patients are not revealed to general public and inter-department communications.
Acting on a PIL demanding a high-level inquiry into the disclosure of identities of 13 persons infected by Covid-19 in Kendrapara district, the division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice BR Sarangi directed the state government not to reveal the names of such patients.
As of now, 1,819 people in 29 districts of the state have tested positive for Covid-19, of those, 1,050 recovered and seven died. Two others who had tested positive for Covid-19 this month, were said to have died of other diseases, the health department said.
"The State authorities are directed to ensure that the identity of any person, who is admitted to Covid centres - any Government or private hospital or quarantine centre in the State - found infected with coronavirus is not disclosed/publicised either in any intra-departmental communication or in any media platform including social media," the division bench said.
The interim order of the court came after one Ananga Kumar Otta filed a petition seeking action against officials and other persons whose negligence led to the revelation of identities of 13 persons in Kendrapara district.
Incidentally, the state government on April 5 had made an exception by intentionally announcing the name of a 60-year-old man from Bhubaneswar after they could not detect the source of his Covid-19 infection. The man also suffered from other diseases like diabetes and hypertension. He was discharged from hospital early this month.
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