
(Eagle News) – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is now the lead agency tasked to conduct contact tracing of individuals who might be infected with COVID-19, according to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Under the latest IATF resolution no. 22, the OCD and the Department of Health will enter into a “data sharing agreement” in accordance with the Data Privacy Act or Republic Act No. 10173, but it is the OCD will which “lead contact tracing efforts of the government,” according to IATF Spokesperson Karlo Nograles.
“Ang OCD na po ang mangunguna sa contact tracing efforts ng pamahalaan at sila ay inaatasang makipag-ugnayan sa DOH para mag-sharing ng datos alinsunod sa Data Privacy Act,” Cabinet Secretary Nograles said in a virtual presser on Sunday.
The OCD will coordinate with other government agencies and local government units “as maybe appropriate” and “shall hereafter lead the contact tracing efforts of the government,” he said.
In connection with this public disclosure of personal information relating to positive COVID-19 cases are now adopted to enhance the government’s contact tracing efforts.
-Health facilities directed to report within 24 hours info on COVID-19 cases-
The DOH, under its new Administrative Order No. 2020-0013, directs health authorities from the government and private sectors to “report suspect, probable and confirmed cases of COVID-19 and results of COVID-19 testing within 24 hours of identification or completion of testing.”
The order covers all health facilities, laboratory testing facilities, offices, institutions, and individuals.”
It also directs all public and private health facilities and providers that admit and give consultations to suspect, probable and confirmed COVID-19 cases to designed a COVID-19 coordinator and his or her alternate to report all COVID-19 related matters to the DOH.
All laboratory facilities that conduct COVID-19 testing must likewise identify and designate a COVID-19 coordinator to the DOH.
The coordinator is required to update daily the COVID-19 Information System website sheets “without need for prompting by 5 p.m.”
The DOH is then required to share information to the OCD for their contact tracing activities.
“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,” Nograles said.
(Eagle News Service)