Officials post patients’ contact details on Facebook

CHENNAI: In an inspiring show of transparency, the Chengalpattu district administration on Wednesday put up a map of the locations of COVID-19 patients in the district, on Facebook. While the initiative was widely welcomed, the officials concerned also gave away the phone numbers of the patients, in a gross breach of privacy. In some cases, the source of infection was also mentioned. The post was taken down after Express alerted the officials, but the data continues to be accessible to those who have saved the link.

A 29-year-old vegetable vendor, who is suspected to have contracted the virus from Koyambedu, told Express he was not contacted for permission to post his private information on social media. “I was not aware of this. As it is we are facing stigma in our neighbourhoods,” the man said. Details of those who attended the religious conference in Delhi, were also published online