translated from Spanish: CPLT stresses Minsal on the need to strengthen information channels

In the context of the health emergency and the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus in the country, the Council for Transparency (CPLT) forwarded a communication to the Ministry of Health, services, undersecretariats and other entities in the area, Ministry of the Interior and State agencies involved in emergency control and management, in order to “facilitate access to public information by the population”. This, in the opinion of the head of the entity, Jorge Jaraquemada, “it is essential to raise awareness of the seriousness of the situation we face and for people to collaborate to prevent contagion, and contributes to transparent the action of the various state bodies involved in the emergency”. This is the second communication that the CPLT sends with recommendations and requirements to public authorities and institutions, to raise standards of transparency in the context of the pandemic and since the declared State of Emergency (the previous office was dispatched on 17 March). In addition, how the numbers of people affected, possibly infected, diagnosed and deceased by the disease, should be reported as a complement. In addition, the CPLT office calls for reporting on expenditures, inputs, number of tests, medical and health officials to deal with the pandemic. In the document, the Council requests the Ministry and health, safety, among others, to comply with a number of requirements and recommendations aimed at the “publication, proactively” of a daily report on the situation of COVID-19 in the country via official website – https://www.gob.cl/coronavirus/). This report, to be delivered at a specified time, shall contain updated data, disaggregated by age or age rank, indicating the number of men and women in each of the parameters. In the case of the official daily report for the CPLT it is essential that it contains: the total number of samples processed by coronavirus – detailing how many were obtained in the last 24 hours – and the number of positive and negative results; total number of people effectively infected, number of suspected unconfirmed cases and number of medical discharges at the country level and disaggregated by region and commune; number of new contagions, per day, and their source of exposure (local, overseas or undetermined contagion), among other figures. In addition, the CPLT aims to account for monitoring of quarantined persons, including the measures and means adopted by MINSAL and other public bodies, whether diagnosed with coronavirus or persons suspected of contagion. In any case, it states point (g) of the trade, “the personal and sensitive data of the persons who have been decreed to be quarantined”should be adequately safeguarded.” On “total quarantine”The document states that maximum publicity is required to be given to those “measures that restrict, limit or affect freedoms or rights of persons” – such as “total quarantine”. In this regard, the lawyer and president of the CPLT, Jorge Jaraquemada, clarified that “public entities must work in compliance with the principles of relevance, freedom of information, openness, among others, and these measures that limit the freedoms and rights of people – for example, to move freely – must be clear, transparent, founded and detailed so that everyone understands and can help in containing the spread of the virus”. The same is true of control procedures and the effects it has on the daily lives of people, in particular the 7 communes that from this Thursday must leave with a permit or safe conduct,” he added. Another issue that has generated requirements for greater transparency has been public spending involved in monitoring the pandemic. In this regard, the CPLT Board of Directors required the broadcast of information on the use of fiscal financial resources for the fight and control of the pandemic – specifying, for example, whether the resources come from the general budget of the nation, whether it is debt incurred with foreign entities, use of the 2% authorized by constitutional decree of economic emergency, or any other origin. In addition, the daily report issued by the authority must contain a history of the type and quantity of medical and hospital supplies for persons infected by COVID_19, disaggregated by the public and private health system. This section shall contain a number of beds available throughout the system and for critically ill patients. It is also requested to communicate the number of tests available for the detection of the virus and those performed to date, and additional statistical information regarding the number of medical and health personnel being worked and available to the health system, exclusively or preferably for the care of coronavirus cases.

Original source in Spanish