Some lawyers have called on the federal and state governments to ensure the privacy of health-related and non-health-related information of persons infected by COVID-19.
The lawyers, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), raised concerns about the exchange of information obtained from the infected and passed among various government departments.
They are of the opinion that it could give rise to a data breach.
According to them, sharing of information could result in data privacy infringement, particularly in relation to non-health data such as name, age, address, travel history, and phone number.
Mr George Ukwuoma, a former Assistant Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch, told NAN on telephone that data privacy had become an important issue in the information technology space.
“I am aware that there is a global effort to ensure the protection of personal data, and Nigeria is not left out in that effort.
“The Nigeria Data Protection Regulations is a government effort in this regard.
“With the outbreak of COVID-19, certain vital personal information and health data are exchanged by various government agencies, and this raises a major concern on cybersecurity and data privacy.
“It is, therefore, advisable for government institutions to put in place better security protocols to protect the information of individuals, especially those directly affected by the virus,” he said.
A technology law expert, Mr Paul Obishai, said that the need to protect information during the COVID-19 pandemic could not be over-emphasized.
He said that the information included generic data (non-health related data) and specific data such as the nature of illness and underlining health issues of persons prior to exposure to the virus.
“Understanding the right of patients to data privacy during this period is as important as the air we breathe.
“Various government departments will have access to large amounts of health-related data.
“They must observe confidentiality, and where the public must be informed about infectious disease, absolute discretion must be applied,” he advised.
Obishai said that confidentiality was paramount in order not to run foul of the infected person’s privacy right under existing laws such as the National Health Act, 2014.
