The Karnataka government published a list of names and details of over 20,000 people who are quarantined in the state due to the Coronavirus.
The list reveals not only the names and addresses of all the people who are quarantined along with other details like their date of arrival, countries they visited in recent times. The details were put up on the state government website . While there are those who say that list was released in the hope of informing people about the addresses of people quarantined at home, it has led to a panic among residents living in and around the apartments which have been named.
A resident who wished to remain unidentified told media that the release of the list sparked panic among residents in their apartment in Bengaluru. The individual, who is also part of the apartment’s resident welfare association (RWA), said that a man living in the apartment informed them that he was returning from Australia earlier this week. Experts in public health and bioethics say that far from helping society, a decision to reveal the identities of people – dead or alive – who have contracted the coronavirus would be a disaster with far-reaching ramifications. The medical; community is of the opinion that in cases like diseases like HIV and coronavirus similar viruses, people simply won’t show up to their doctor if they feel they might be outed for a condition.
However, others say that the move was necessary to ensure that people who had returned from abroad did not step out during the home quarantine period. The Karnataka government began stamping passengers arriving from abroad with indelible ink on March 18. The state government also tasked the police with tracing all foreign-returned residents and stamp them.
It was only yesterday that prime minister Narenndra Modi exhorted citizens to respect the doctors and others involved in looking after the welfare of the Corona affected victims. The PM said in the wake of widespread stories about professionals who face the risk of contracting the novel coronavirus due to the nature of their jobs are facing harassment and discrimination.
Earlier this week, there were reports about flight crew members, doctors and others whose jobs put them at the high risk of contracting the contagion, complained of being ostracised and outright harassment at the hands of fellow citizens. In some cases, they were even asked by their landlords to quit their homes without any notice whatsoever.
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Lead picture : UNI