The latest case of COVID in Tasmania has taken a negative turn, but not in the way of new cases.
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The individual who sparked the lockdown in the South is now at the centre of a very public tirade against him online and through the media.
The Director of Public Health, Dr Mark Veitch, was questioned during the COVID-19 update on Sunday, about his public identification. He made a strong point.
"Imagine someone ... they get a bit of a sniffle, and they live in a household with a couple of children who will be going to school ... and they feel that because of this identification of this person in the media .. 'oh gee I don't want this to happen to me, I am just going to live with this sniffle, it won't be COVID'. And they turn out to be COVID, and the children go to school," he said.
By targeting one individual, it deters people from coming forward for fear of being publicly vilified.
Yes, this person did the wrong thing. But there are processes in place to deal with his actions. The premier has already urged Tasmania Police to investigate further action, and Tasmania Police has said it will.
Despite countless cases of broader breaches across the country since the beginning of the pandemic, only a handful have been publicly shamed in the media.
So how are they chosen? Why does this individual in Hobart deserve more punishment than the NSW man who tried to enter Tasmania in August, and then left quarantine in Launceston before testing positive. That man was never identified.
A man was arrested in Hobart on the weekend and found to be hosting more people at his home than allowed during the lockdown. Will this person be named and shamed?
It is not just about whether these individuals deserve to be outed.
The stigma associated with having COVID remains. Few would want to be "that person" who brings COVID into the state, or tests positive and causes a lockdown.
So adding the fear of having your name, and photo plastered across newspapers only creates more hesitancy.
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