THE government may now publicly disclose the identities of people subject to its contact-tracing efforts in its campaign against the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) adopted Resolution No. 22 allowing the “mandatory public disclosure of personal information relating to positive Covid-19 cases to enhance the contract-tracing efforts of the government.”
Prior to the new IATF issuance, the government did not release such information due to the data privacy law.
The government is now eyeing to ramp up its contact-tracing efforts through more intensified testing and isolation measures to contain the spread of Covid-19.
In preparation for this initiative, Nograles said the IATF transferred the lead responsibility for contact tracing from the Department of Health’s (DOH) Bureau of Quarantine to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).
“The Office of Civil Defense or OCD in coordination with other agencies and Local Government Units as may be appropriate, shall hereafter lead the contact-tracing efforts of the government,” Nograles said.
“For this purpose, the DOH and the OCD are directed to enter into a data sharing agreement in accordance with Republic Act Number 10173 or the Data Privacy Act,” he added.
Data gathering
The government plans to lift the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon on April 30, 2020.
To help with its “anticipatory forward planning” in the aftermath of the ECQ, it has launched it data gathering initiatives, which includes exempting the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) from the mandatory home quarantine in Luzon.
“Provided that such exemption shall be without prejudice to the requirement of strict social distancing measure in all its operations and data gathering services and activities,” Nograles said.
Among the assigned tasks of PSA would be “to conduct data gathering and survey activities related to Covid-19, including those related to the registration and implementation of the National Identification (ID) System.”
Nograles said the IATF also approved the recommendation of the National Security Council for the Food Security subgroup under the Technical Group of Resource and Logistics Management of the National Task Force, headed by the Department of Agriculture, to come out with regular updates on the figures for food production and manufacturing. ]
He said the measure aims to ensure that communities affected by ECQ will have sufficient supply of food and water, shelter and energy until the end of the month.