Needless withholding of information on confirmed cases irks media

Islamabad : While the government expects the media to adhere to medical ethics by withholding patient-identifiable information when reporting on Novel Coronavirus, the media too expects the government to create a mechanism for channelizing information about confirmed cases in a manner that prevents unnecessary confusion and panic.

The media was in a quandary soon after unverified news about Pakistan’s first two confirmed cases of nCoV started circulating among health journalists on Wednesday. The Executive Director of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) was a key contributor to the confusion as he not only refuted the fact that one of the confirmed patients was under treatment at PIMS, but also insisted that there was not a single confirmed case anywhere in Pakistan!

Ironically, the stance adopted by PIMS did not change even the following day, with many reporters being misinformed to the effect that PIMS does not have any confirmed nCoV patient! The ED was either ill-informed himself, in which case the government needs to immediately entrust the management of the capital’s largest tertiary care hospital to someone who is professionally sound and alert, or was deliberating concealing facts because he had been instructed not to divulge any information about the cases.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) had definitely been ordered to keep all information confidential, apparently because the PM’s Special Assistant on Health Dr. Zafar Mirza, who had by then confirmed the country’s first two cases through a tweet from Taftan, wanted to make the disclosure himself. Since Dr. Zafar was traveling, the media was initially informed that he would personally share details of the two cases in a press conference the next day (February 27). Later on, however, better sense prevailed and a press conference was convened in Balochistan the same night, with some details being made public about the two confirmed cases.

The government needs to understand that withholding of information on a disease that the WHO has categorized as a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ will not only arouse suspicion and mistrust among health journalists but also multiply the likelihood of incorrect and unverified information making headlines. Details about confirmed cases need to be handled and disseminated more professionally, with one focal person being appointed to collate information from the Ministry of Health, the NIH, as well as from hospitals where such patients are admitted, so that the possibility of misrepresentation of facts does not arise.

Meanwhile, on a more serious note, the administration of PIMS is yet to provide protective gear and masks to its doctors. Communicating his concern in a video message, the President of the Young Doctors Association Dr. Fazle-Rabbi disclosed that it was four days ago that he requested the administration to provide N95 masks and other protective gear to doctors and nurses at PIMS, but nobody has bothered so far.

“We need to protect ourselves in order to efficiently handle and treat suspected patients of nCoV. Our doctors and nurses are gripped by fear. We are not afraid of treating patients; on the contrary, we are even willing to go to Taftan border, should the need arise. However, it is the government’s responsibility to take measures for the protection and safety of doctors,” Dr Fazle Rabbi stated. He pointed out that unless doctors are safe themselves, they will not be able to deal with an outbreak.

Furthermore, with protective masks either completely disappearing from the markets of Islamabad or being sold at hiked prices, D Watson’s Blue Area branch set a great precedent by distributing free masks to public on Thursday. Five masks per person were distributed free of cost, with the ID card numbers of the recipients being jotted.

In a related development that is expected to offer some remedy, District Magistrate Hamza Shafqaat has—proceeding under Section 144 Cr.PC 1898—prohibited all kinds of profiteering and hoarding of safety masks in Islamabad, and has ordered all shopkeepers and vendors of the city to ensure their availability. The order has come into force with immediate effect and shall remain in force for two months.