Covid-19 test results released to cameras and employers

The National Data Protection Commission has received complaints about the illegal sharing of test results with Covid-19. The Secretary General of the Commission to the Público newspaper that at least one of the complaints led to the opening of a case currently under investigation.

This is the case of a public body that has established a protocol with a laboratory to perform tests on Covid-19 for employees. The results will have been sent to the directors of each service, and it will have been the directors who have transmitted the test result by telephone to workers who tested positive.

If this procedure is confirmed, it is a very serious violation of the rules for the protection of personal health data. In these cases, the fine can reach 20 million euros.

Público reports another case, involving the Chamber of Castelo Branco.

The municipality will have purchased 5,000 tests from a laboratory. The results were sent to the chamber, which then contacted the workers individually with positive tests.

The National Data Protection Commission has not received any complaints about this process, but confirms the opening of a case to another public body, without revealing which person it is.