On the 25th of March 2020, the Minister of Communications, Telecommunications and Postal Services, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, announced that one’s cell phone data will be used to curb the spread of COVID-19.[1] Chapter 3 of the Regulations issued in terms of Section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, allow for the formation of a COVID-19 tracing database.[2]
This will be conducted in the form of contact tracing. This can be defined as “the practice of identifying and monitoring individuals who may have had contact with an infectious person as a means of controlling the spread of a communicable disease”[3] Essentially, once a person has been tested positive with a virus, contact tracers will identify others who have had exposure to the infected person, when they may have been infectious.
Contact tracing was utilised in 2014 with regard to the Ebola virus outbreak, and further in the SARS outbreak in 2003.[4] Further, the World Health Organisation (“WHO”) has supplied guidance on global surveillance for COVID-19.[5] In terms of the WHO guidance, public health surveillance can be defined as, “the continuous, systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health-related data needed for the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health practice in relation to COVID-19.”
In terms of the Regulations, the Department of Health has to develop and maintain a national database. This permits cell phone companies to provide location data for the database about the COVID-19 carriers or people who have been in close proximity to them.
The position in South Africa, prior to the Regulations, is to protect customer information and does not allow cell phone companies to share any customer information without a Section 205 subpoena or without the consent of the customer.
The national database, permitted by the Regulations, will include the following information: First name, last name, identity number/passport number, residential address, work address/other addresses where they could be located, cell phone number, COVID-19 test results and the personal details of all known or suspected contacts of anyone who has tested positive for the virus.[6] It is important to note that all users whose data has been captured, must be informed thereof within six weeks after the lapse of the State of Disaster.
Contact tracing can have catastrophic consequences if it is not implemented with proper privacy checks and encryption. Contact tracing can cause concerns about privacy and confidentiality, however, the need for safety in terms of the pandemic outweighs/limits some privacy rights.
Should you require any assistance or Consumer/POPI-related advice, please contact your nearest SEESA office, or SMS the word “SEESA” to 45776 for professional legal advice.
Melindi Dean is a SEESA Consumer Protection & POPI legal advisor in Pretoria. She graduated from the University of South Africa with her LLB degree Cum Laude. She started her career at SEESA in 2018.
Bibliography:
- Merriam-webster.com. 2020. Definition Of CONTACT TRACING. [online] Available at: <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contact%20tracing> [Accessed 11 May 2020].
- Time. 2020. What Is Contact Tracing? Here’s How It Could Fight Coronavirus. [online] Available at: <https://time.com/5825140/what-is-contact-tracing-coronavirus/> [Accessed 11 May 2020].
- Who.int. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/global-surveillance-for-covid-v-19-final200321-rev.pdf> [Accessed 11 May 2020].
- Disaster Management Act: Regulations To Address, Prevent And Combat The Spread Of Coronavirus COVID-19: Amendment | South African Government. [online] Available at: <https://www.gov.za/documents/disaster-management-act-regulations-address-prevent-and-combat-spread-coronavirus-covid-19> [Accessed 11 May 2020].
[1] The Minister announced this at the Security Cluster Meeting held on 25 March 2020. Available at https: youtube/aBzDYCWFFim, accessed on 11 May 2020.
[2] Disaster Management Act: Regulations to address, prevent and combat the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19: Amendment | South African Government
[3] (Definition of CONTACT TRACING, 2020)
[4] (What Is Contact Tracing? Here’s How It Could Fight Coronavirus, 2020)
[5] Who.int. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/global-surveillance-for-covid-v-19-final200321-rev.pdf> [Accessed 11 May 2020].
[6] (Disaster Management Act: Regulations to address, prevent and combat the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19: Amendment | South African Government, 2020)