Province cautious about revealing COVID locations
Social-media rumours circulating that people are contracting virus in Kamsack
REGINA As far back as March 12, when the province announced Saskatchewan’s first presumptive case of COVID-19, rumours have been circulating on Facebook of people contracting the virus in the town of Kamsack.
“Since the government won’t tell us where the cases are we need to start telling people where they are as we find out so we can protect ourselves and our families,” wrote one resident on Facebook on March 24 regarding rumours of two cases in the town of 1,775, which is located northeast of Yorkton.
A radio station based in Swan River Man., CJSB 104.5, also posted on March 24 that two people in the Kamsack area had tested positive, but provided no source for the information.
On its website, the only specific locations the province lists for cases includes Regina and Saskatoon. For cases outside those cities, the government has referred to regions in the province, such as north or central Saskatchewan.
This has sparked some public frustration, with residents in smaller centres demanding to know if COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in their communities.
The reason for the province’s hesitation to name every specific community where a COVID-19 case occurs comes down to privacy laws.
According to Saskatchewan’s Privacy Commissioner Ronald J. Kruzeniski, naming a small community where a case happened increases the risk of a patient being publicly identified.
“While you can probably say how many are in Regina, Saskatoon or Moose Jaw or Prince Albert, but if you get to a community of 300, and you say ‘So and so who’s 72,’ You’ve pretty well identified the person,” Kruzeniski said during a phone interview this week.
Under privacy laws, the government can give out general information on COVID-19 cases that doesn’t identify individuals, but there’s a balance the government has to strike so it doesn’t go too far.
“The one dilemma they have, as your information gets more granular, it gets closer to actually some people being able to identify who the person is,” said Kruzeniski.
He said it might be possible for the province to go further and list cases in smaller cities than Saskatoon or Regina, but it’s a “slippery slope.”
“Is the cut-off point Humboldt, is the cut-off point Melville? What size of community do you stop at?,” said Kruzeniski.
A representative from the Ministry of Health said there is no set cut-off for the size of communities when it comes to listing the location of cases.
“It is done on a case-by-case basis depending on information available, the individual circumstances, and potentially identifying information,” said the ministry representative.
In the event of possible clusters or outbreaks of the virus, the government said it will supply more specific geographical information.
This was the case on Wednesday, when the Saskatchewan Health Authority issued an advisory that two people who attended a snowmobile club supper in Christopher Lake on March 14 had tested positive for COVID-19, including one who served food. More than 110 people attended the event.
During Wednesday’s provincial update, Premier Scott Moe said each community should be taking the proper preventive measures regardless of whether there have been any reported cases. He also spoke to the province’s interest in balancing transparency with personal privacy when giving pandemic updates.
“We need to continue to endeavour to report as accurate of information as we can, but always protecting individuals’ privacy rights as well,” said Moe.
NDP leader Ryan Meili believes the government could be more specific with where cases occur, while still protecting the privacy of individuals. Meili said he understood the caution around identifying very small communities, but said towns with hundreds of people should still be listed.
“That is not identifiable information. There’s no risk there of somebody saying, ‘Oh, there’s a case in Weyburn. I know who it is.’ All of these places are too large for that,” said Meili during a phone interview.
Meili said being more specific on where cases are happening in the province would be preferable to seeing rumours spread, and would help smaller communities realize cases can happen anywhere.
Kruzeniski acknowledged there is certainly a high degree of public interest in COVID-19 cases, but information released still has to fall within current privacy laws that have been established around health care.
“Privacy is a very cherished thing, and it is cherished when it comes to serious diseases,” said Kruzeniski. “So at this time when there is a tremendous need for public information, decision-makers have to do a delicate balancing act.”