COVID-19 And Data Protection

One positive aspect to come out of the coronavirus is seeing how communities have come together to help those vulnerable or struggling, whether it be doing the weekly shop for an elderly neighbour, supplying learning resources to a parent home-schooling their child, or checking in on someone in the "at-risk" category from time to time.

Those involved in the community group will need to share information in order to co-ordinate an appropriate and efficient response. Often this will be done electronically and will involve sharing, often very sensitive, personal data. Whilst data protection is unlikely to be at the forefront of any community discussions, it is, nonetheless imperative that appropriate protections are put in place.