Mindanao lawmaker wants public identification of COVID-19 cases

A House lawmaker said Wednesday that COVID-19 patients need to be publicly identified to boost the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine in efforts to stem the spread of the deadly new coronavirus.

In a post on his Facebook account, Davao del Norte Rep. Alan Dujali (2nd District) said that he already made the recommendation to the  the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) in a bid to help strengthen government’s efforts to curb the pandemic.

On the other hand, Senator Panfilo Lacson last Tuesday also made an appeal for public disclosure of COVID-19 afflicted people amid stringent laws on "patient" medical record standing in the way of government's efforts at flattening the COVID-19 curve.

"With Republic Act 11055 or the Philippine Identification System Act still not ready for implementation, it is not easy for the government to trace ordinary citizens who tested positive for COVID-19, as well as those who were directly exposed and symptomatic," the senator said.

Likewise, he said, the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (R.A. 10173), which protects the right to privacy and non-disclosure of medical records of patients, also adds to the difficulty.

As of March 31, 2020, the Philippines has recorded  2,084 COVID-19 cases; 88 deaths; and 49  recoveries. —LBG, GMA News