Authorities in Pune have warned that any person revealing names of individuals who tested positive for the COVID-19 over social media will face legal action.
Taking note of a complaint from a relative of a Pune-based patient, who tested positive for COVID-19, Pune Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said that the police authorities had been directed to monitor social media posts and take appropriate action in such cases.
Remarking that the afflicted persons and their kin could be subjected to social boycott if their names were revealed on social media and other platforms, Dr. Mhaisekar strongly exhorted people not to name any person.
“If the identity of a patient is revealed, that person and his family could needlessly be subjected to trauma in form of social boycott. There is a pressing need to be more sensitive. However, despite the fact that we have been issuing such appeals right from day one of the crisis, some people are spreading wrong and misleading information on social media,” he said, stating that the district administration had received such a complaint.
Dr. Mhaisekar said the cyber cell of the Pune police was closely monitoring rumour mongers as well as those revealing the identity of patients to curb the spread of such potentially damaging information.
A relative of one of the patients on Wednesday had written to the Divisional Commissioner, complaining that information about the infected person was allegedly revealed on social media which in turn led the person’s family to face unwarranted mental hardship. The complainant has also sought action against those who revealed the identity of the afflicted person on social media.
“As a result of such irresponsible actions, the family is facing a social boycott-like situation,” Dr. Mhaisekar said.
Till date, Maharashtra has recorded 11 positive COVID-19 cases which Pune recording the maximum number of eight cases, followed by two in Mumbai and one in Nagpur.
Earlier on Monday, a Pune couple, who were part of a 40-member tour group which recently travelled to Dubai, were the first in the State to test positive for the virus. Following that, the couple’s daughter, along with another co-passenger from Yavatmal, as well as the cab driver who ferried the couple from Mumbai airport to Pune on their return from Dubai on March 1, had tested positive .
On Wednesday, three more persons in Pune, and two in Mumbai who were part of this group had tested positive.
