The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has cautioned Kano citizens against exposing the name and picture of the state’s first coronavirus infected person on the various social media platforms.
In a statement signed by its Campaigns and Communications Officer, Ali Sabo, said it also noticed that people are using the patient’s name, picture and status in a negative way, a situation it said is a threat to the fight against this deadly virus.
“People will now become skeptical to self-report themselves when they suspect they have been infected with virus for fear of being stigmatized and harassed. This has clearly breached the ethics of medical profession which demand respect for confidentiality of patient identify; the life of the patient and his family are now being put at risk.
“Though we believe that it is wrong for anyone who is suspected to have contracted the virus or have a travel history to any place where there is confirmed case of Covid-19 to be mingling with other people, it is also absolutely wrong for people to be victimizing and stigmatizing the victim which will set the fight against Covid-19 back in the country,” CITAD stated, while also urging people to continue to cooperate with authorities by adhering to prevention guidelines.
It called on people, particularly medical professional, to respect the privacy, confidentiality and rights of patients regardless of their health status more so as this may lead to panic and discourage people from self-reporting.
“We also realized that past pictures of the victim are being circulated by tagging people he had related with in the past…we urge people to stop creating unnecessary panic in the society. Medical professionals should respect the privacy and confidentiality of their patients no matter the nature of their illnesses. Government should be more proactive in this fight and ensure that the privacy of every patient is being guaranteed so as not to discourage people from self-reporting.
“As a digital rights organization, we cherish online privacy and while we struggle to ensure that government does not abuse the privacy of individuals, we should equally urge citizens to respect the privacy of others,” CITAD asserted.
