Is Confidentiality being Broken with Mandatory COVID List?

The S.I. legally compels the Director of Health Services to hand over the names of all COVID-19 patients across the country giving rise to the question of doctor/patient confidentiality.  According to the Attorney General, the decision to make the list compulsory came from the National Oversight Committee and Cabinet in a recent meeting. And cabinet, as you have heard, will now revisit the S.I.  The AG says that it is important for the police department to be aware of all those individuals so their movement, should they violate the quarantine order, can be monitored.

Michael Peyrefitte

Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney General

“I’m not asking.  The [National] Oversight Committee and the Cabinet have both said that that’s in the best interest of dealing with the pandemic.  I don’t foresee an issue at all.  We are in a pandemic [and] I, personally, see no shame in somebody having COVID-19, I don’t see what’s the issue.  There will be no breach of confidentiality that is not necessary.  As it is, if we find out that Daniel Ortiz is [positive for] COVID-19 and we have to do contact tracing from you, we have to then eventually inform other people that we’re investigating them because you’re positive.  So there’s no confidentiality in the strictest sense now, as we speak and I think on a national issue, on a pandemic issue, it’s not personal, like some other diseases, this is a pandemic and I would hope that if I were to be [positive for] COVID-19, I would proudly say that I have it so that my friends and my family can know that I have it so that they can take care of themselves or get themselves checked.  So I personally don’t see an issue with it.  Nobody’s privacy to that extent would be violated but it’s very important for the police to know if a person is violating their self-isolation order so we can arrest them and detain them and charge them so we can protect you.”