How Should Companies Handle Employee Personal Information During Novel Coronavirus Outbreak?

Introduction

The novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) has been classified as a Class B infectious disease under the Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases and preventive and control measures for Class A infectious diseases have been taken. Thirty-one provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across the country initiated the Severity 1 response to major public health emergencies. To cooperate with the state epidemic control measures and protect the health of employees, employers must provide outbreak-related information on their employees, resulting in some special legal issues regarding personal information protection. Such issues should be subject to personal information protection provisions, including: