[Wuhan Pneumonia in Japan] A confirmed patient who has lost contact can be notified to the police to find someone. How to strike a balance between human rights and epidemic investigation?

Due to the recent incidents of lost contact with patients diagnosed with COVID-19, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare instructed local governments on the 22nd that in the future, if the local health center judges the situation to be necessary (for example: the emergency contact number cannot be reached, visiting the person's residence, home or office) No one can be found at the location), you can report the missing whereabouts of the positive patient to the police, and ask the police to help confirm the location of the positive patient.

When the local health center requests the police to assist in the search for a COVID-19 positive patient, it will provide the police with personal information such as the name, address, date of birth, etc. of the person concerned. Since the personal information of these confirmed patients is only passed between administrative agencies, it does not violate the confidentiality principle of Japan's Infectious Diseases Act.

Some health centers worry about violating patients' human rights

Long before this news came out, Naoko Iwanaga, who was a reporter for the medical department of the Yomiuri Shimbun and is now the editor of BuzzFeed Japan Medical in the Japanese version, had an exclusive report a week ago (July 14). The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare intends to ask the police to assist in the "search" for patients diagnosed with COVID-19. At that time, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare had discussed the specific details with the National Police Agency, but many local health chiefs objected to allowing the police to assist in the epidemic investigation on the grounds that the move was a "human rights violation".

Patients are not criminals, and epidemic investigation is not "search"

According to an exclusive report by the Japanese version of "BuzzFeed", the original direction considered by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is to provide information such as the personal names, addresses, age, gender, physical characteristics or photos of COVID-19 confirmed patients who have lost contact with the police, so as to facilitate police assistance "Search" for confirmed patients. Although some health centers agree with the proposal of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, there are also some health centers that believe that health centers should be institutions that help infected people, not “search” institutions. Police patients should not be given personal information.

It is against the health care center that allows the police to assist in "searching" for confirmed patients. Since Japan has a history of discriminating against Han patients or HIV carriers in terms of system design, the current "Infectious Diseases Law" pays great attention to the human rights of patients, "Infectious Diseases". Although Article 15 of the Law states that health centers must actively conduct epidemic investigations, even if patients do not cooperate with epidemic investigations, they will not be punished. Even if the airborne tuberculosis patient loses contact, it is impossible for the health center to report the missing person to the police. Why do the confirmed cases of COVID-19 have to report the missing person to the police?

Police intervention may make epidemic investigation more difficult

In addition, some health centers are worried that if the police assist the epidemic investigation, more people may be reluctant to cooperate with the epidemic investigation, which will have the opposite effect. For example, if it is not the people from the health center who came to the epidemic investigation today, but the police, if the confirmed patients themselves are very resistant to the police and have hidden things that the police do not want to know, it may make the epidemic investigation process more troublesome.

In this regard, Masahiro Sogabe, a professor at the Faculty of Law of Kyoto University, who is familiar with Japan's Constitution and information-related regulations, believes that whether to let the police assist in the epidemic investigation needs to consider: (1) the necessity for the police to intervene in the epidemic investigation and (2) whether to do so It can really reduce the occurrence of patient disconnection. The biggest problem with this matter is that the public will worry about whether the police will take the opportunity of this epidemic investigation to take the opportunity to search other cases. Even if the police or the government have repeatedly emphasized that this situation is only for the police to help find the missing confirmed patients, if the person concerned has something to hide, they are worried that the police will catch the cake, but they may hide further and find the person more difficult.

Various factors cause most of the missing patients to be nightlife-related businesses

After Japan lifted the state of emergency, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and officials from the central government kept stressing in the media that nearly half of the infected people in the current wave of the epidemic were spread through "nightlife", strengthening social awareness about "nightlife" or "nightlife". The stigma of specialty industries.

At that time, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and other places reported outbreaks of cluster infections among nightclubs, nightclubs and other accompanying liquor operators, so the mayor of Shinjuku took the initiative to communicate with special operators in Shinjuku City, hoping that relevant practitioners can take the initiative to participate in Shinjuku City. Group inspections, as long as someone is diagnosed, they can be sent for treatment immediately. If everyone is fine, they can prove to the public that the current wave of epidemics is not all caused by nightlife, so as to wash away the negative image. Unexpectedly, after the first test, a bunch of asymptomatic infected people were caught, and the age distribution of infected people in Tokyo dropped sharply overnight, becoming mainly young people in their 20s and 30s.

Extended reading: " [Wuhan Pneumonia in Japan] The Epidemic in Shinjuku District, Tokyo Raises the Alert, Most of the Confirmed Cases Are Young People "

According to the current anti-epidemic policy of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, no matter whether it is an asymptomatic infected person or a mildly ill patient, as long as they are diagnosed with COVID-19, they basically have to recuperate in a hospital or an "anti-epidemic hotel*". During this period, the health center will send someone to the epidemic investigation to inquire about the recent contact history. However, because Japan's epidemic prevention policy is not mandatory, if the person concerned wishes to stay at home to recuperate, it is possible to choose not to be hospitalized. In this case, the health center must regularly confirm the current location of the patient and whether they are staying at home properly. In the process of recuperation, it is inevitable that there will be a loss of contact with the diagnosed patient.

＊日本的「防疫旅館」是讓輕症或無症狀感染者的確診患者養病專用，與台灣的「防疫旅館」是提供給入境後須進行14天居家檢疫，一旦出現症狀確診COVID-19就必須要搬離「防疫旅館」住院治療的概念完全不同。

The relationship between Shinjuku City's implementation of group inspections in downtown areas will increase the proportion of "nightlife"-related personnel among the new daily confirmed cases. When the proportion of "nightlife" related personnel is relatively high in the number of newly diagnosed daily cases, it is conceivable that the proportion of "nightlife" related personnel among the "disconnected" confirmed COVID-19 patients will also be relatively high. In addition, employees related to "nightlife" just meet the conditions of "young, mostly mild or asymptomatic infections", they are not priority patients who are sent to hospital under Japan's epidemic prevention policy, and can choose to stay at home to recuperate ( aka home isolation), the above factors add up, and it just happens that "many of the confirmed patients who have lost contact are nightlife-related businesses".

Therefore, when the media continues to report where there are missing COVID-19 confirmed patients, as long as they click on "the nightlife-related industry has lost contact after being diagnosed again", it will once again strengthen the society's stigma against nightclubs and the sex industry. bias.

In the name of maintaining good customs, the reality of epidemic prevention "propaganda"

In fact, long before the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare decided to let the police assist in "searching" for the missing patients, the local government has repeatedly used the " Regulation of Customs and Businesses and the Correction of Businesses, etc. " Enforcement Order ", which allowed the police to enter special industries to "promote" epidemic prevention measures, causing many industry operators to resent them.

The earliest incident occurred in Osaka Prefecture on July 8. When a woman went to the Cowherd shop for consumption, because she could not pay, the shop suspected that the woman would go to the sea to repay the debt, and the Osaka Prefecture police arrested the woman for violating the "Shizun Prevention Act". The incident of the Cowherd shop owner. After that, the Osaka Prefectural Police raided other nearby stores on the evening of the 17th in accordance with the "Wind Camp Law", nominally to investigate whether the nearby stores were operating in accordance with the regulations, but wearing goggles, masks and gloves, calling on business owners to Take preventive measures.

According to Article 37(2) of the Wind Camp Law, when necessary, the police can enter special industries to investigate whether the operators are operating in accordance with the regulations. However, in the "Wind Camp Law", it is not mentioned that the police can enter the store for surprise inspections in order to prevent the epidemic. This time, the Osaka Prefectural Police used the "Wind Camp Law" to enter the store to conduct epidemic prevention propaganda, which is an abuse of power.

Unexpectedly, when there was a question on Twitter about how the Osaka Prefectural Police could enter the store under the guise of the "Wind Camp Law" to call on the business owners to take epidemic prevention measures, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga first rationalized the behavior of the Osaka Prefectural Police on TV on the 19th. It is believed that the police can use the "Wind Camp Law" to enter the store for epidemic prevention propaganda. Yoshihide Suga then reiterated at the press conference the next day (7/20): "From the inspection results in Tokyo, we know that the infection situation in nightlife is very serious", "Cowboy shops and nightclubs are the root cause of the (epidemic)", emphasizing that the police should Fulfill the obligations of the "Wind Camp Law", and by the way call on business operators to take epidemic prevention measures.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government sends police and Tokyo Metropolitan staff to check

In the end, even the Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, joined the battle. On the 22nd, Yuriko Koike asked the Metropolitan Police Department to enter the store with the "Wind Camp Law" to assist in epidemic prevention propaganda. In this regard, the cadres of the Metropolitan Police Department stated that the police can enter the Cowherd shop, nightclub, and sex shop to confirm the staff list, business hours, and whether there are minors in the shop according to the "Wind Camp Law". Customs" of the "Wind Camp Law" cannot be used to confirm whether the epidemic prevention measures in the store are correct.

Finally, the Metropolitan Police, accompanied by Tokyo Metropolitan staff, went to Tokyo, Kabukicho and Ikebukuro on the evening of the 24th to investigate. The police are responsible for confirming the store's staff list, schedule and whether there are minors in the store. Only the stores that have obtained the consent of the store will ask the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's staff to confirm whether the store's epidemic prevention measures are in place.

Junichi Kudo, acting president of the Shinjuku Social Cuisine and Catering Federation, said that for the store owner, the police will definitely cooperate with the investigation, but the epidemic prevention measures have nothing to do with the "Wind Camp Law". The police breaking into the store like this will only strengthen the outside world. Negative impression of nightlife. Koka Kaori, the acting director of the Japan Water Merchant Association (Japan Water Merchant Sales Association), which is composed of nightclub staff in Tokyo, said that entering the store with the "Wind Camp Law" and saying that it is necessary to check the epidemic prevention measures have already exceeded the police's authority. I hope If the police are fine after the inspection, they can at least help publicize them: "This store is very safe, so it doesn't matter if you go there."

References

1. [Solo] Unknown where to go after the positive diagnosis → Police in Hokkaido Province
2. Kabukicho Kabukicho Police "Normal Activities" Store Side
3. The cooperation of infection countermeasures, the perplexity, the police standing and entering り "The root of the law"
4. コロナ対Strategy, "Night Street", what is the best way to do it? "The abuse of the power" and the accusation も
5. Contact no fetch れ な い infected people, confirm where they are, the police, cooperate with the police, ... the health center is unknown

The original link is Japanese current affairs まとめ translation by Kaori Ishikawa