Niagara Public Health will begin releasing more detailed information about COVID-19 in Niagara, including fatalities, basic demographics and a breakdown of suspected infection sources including travel history.
The announcement comes after several weeks of criticism against Niagara Regions decision not to announce deaths related to the pandemic, while other Ontario health agencies have taken a different stance.
“It is a reflection of the fact that we now have more cases in Niagara,” said acting medical officer Dr. Mustafa Hirji.
The section of the website will also feature an epidemic curve so that those interested can follow the development of COVID-19 in the region.
Hirji said there are no plans to release a breakdown on municipal levels at this time to protect patient privacy - an argument he has repeated throughout the pandemic.
On Tuesday the region decided to make the number of long-term care residents in Niagara that got COVID-19 public.
When asked about the online criticism that has emerged over the restrictive information policies from the region, Hirji said there are local examples of information being misused.
“A person who was diagnosed woth COVID-19 early was identified by people on social media and received harassing messages online. These people identified the person just based on the few details in the news release, the gender, age and travel history.”
According to Hirji the person reached out to the region to highlight the harassment.
“That, coupled with a few other complaints made us very thoughtful how much we release.”
The new section of the website is planned to be launched before the weekend.
