While revered online for their courageous act of serving the people amid the COVID-19 pandemic, health workers previously shared stories about facing discrimination which range from being refused rides to getting bleach thrown at them out of fear.

[READ: Praises are posted online—but it’s different from what frontliners face in reality]

Aiming to fight the stigma against COVID-19, the city government of Manila will be implementing a new ordinance called the “Anti COVID-19 Discrimination Act of 2020.”

The ordinance prohibits anyone “from committing any act which causes stigma, disgrace, shame, humiliation, harassment or otherwise discriminating against a person infected, under monitoring or investigation due to the COVID-19 virus.”

It also includes the protection of public and private doctors, nurses, health workers, emergency personnel and volunteers, as well as service workers who are assigned to hospitals or other centers where these persons are being treated, against any forms of discrimination.

The ordinance also makes anyone who spreads sensitive information, whether verified or not, in public or via social media about confirmed or suspected patients of COVID-19 punishable by law.

Those who violate the new Manila City ordinance shall be fined P5,000, face imprisonment period not exceeding six months or both. Moreover, if the offender is a public officer, maximum penalty shall be imposed.

As of Apr. 2, there are already 2,633 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country which includes a death toll of 107. In the city of Manila alone, there are 337 persons under investigation and 127 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with a death toll of 19.

“Stigmatization could drive people to hide the illness to avoid discrimination or prevent people from seeking health care immediately and discourage them from adopting healthy behaviors,” the ordinance stated.

Header photo from Inquirer.net

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