The global outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has prompted
a variety of legal concerns. As companies seek to adopt a range of
mitigation strategies, many organisations are increasingly
submitting and receiving requests for health information on
individuals. This article considers the data protection issues
arising from such requests.
Background
In light of the prevalence of COVID-19, organisations that
provide on-site services are likely to face increasing questions
from other parties about the health of employees assigned to
customer-facing positions. For example, a service provider
deploying a team of people into a client's office for several
weeks may need to satisfy the client that no members of the
deployed team have tested positive for the virus or recently
travelled to a particular destination. They may be required to give
evidence or details to verify such statements.
