Petition in Kerala High Court alleges patients' information leak by hospitals

A petition has been moved in Kerala High Court alleging a leak of personal details of COVID-19 patients. The petitioner has claimed that the hospitals treating patients are possibly leaking the information to private entities. The matter was heard from both sides by a bench constituted by Justice Shaji P Chaly and Justice Ashok Menon on Wednesday. 

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Petitioner alleges personal information leak by hospitals

The matter has been adjourned by the bench till May 11, when the state government is likely to file a response narrating its side. The petition was filed through advocate Mathew Kuzhalanadan. In his claims, the petitioner told the court that even though he was not a Coronavirus patient, he aided a patient who was diagnosed. The patient was admitted in a Kasargode hospital. The petitioner alleged that he received a call from a Bangalore-based entity.

"On enquiries, the petitioner came to realise that the person who had contacted him had not acted on behalf of any government authority and that it may be a private entity who was given access to his mobile number," Kuzhalanadan said.

In addition, the petitioner also said that he has made a representation to the state government regarding the matter. Meanwhile, responding to the case, a government representative, on the other hand, said that he would obtain a report from the District Collectors over the issue and file a statement in the court given the serious allegations made.

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Coronavirus in Kerala

Kerala has been successful in containing the COVID-19 outbreak and flattening the infection curve, although it was the first state to report a case in India. It currently has only 37 active cases of the infection, including three reported on Tuesday, as against 462 patients who have recovered and three deaths. The nationwide lockdown which was initially imposed for a period of 21-day has been further extended till May 17.

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(With ANI inputs)