Rights and Obligations of Persons with Coronavirus Disease or other Communicable Diseases
Rights and Obligations of Persons with Coronavirus Disease or other Communicable Diseases
It is not strange for the Emirati legislator to take an interest in the health sector in the State, and he has enacted all the laws that guarantee its legalization in a way that guarantees the patient’s health and safety and access to the necessary health care for his recovery. The communicable diseases have gained special attention from the legislator who enacted a special law that is the Federal Law No. 14 of 2014, regarding combating communicable diseases, which is important currently as the world suffers from a pandemic disease called Coronavirus. In this article, we will talk about the patients with Corona virus and other communicable diseases; what are their rights declared by law? What are their obligations imposed by law?
Rights of the Patients with Corona-virus and other Communicable Diseases:
- For the purpose of the communicable diseases detection, any person can voluntarily conduct an anonymous examination in the health centers and institutions in respect of which a decision is issued by the Ministry or the Health Authority. In this case, the physicians and all the employees of these centers and institutions who undertake this examination must not disclose the identity of the patient or the result of his examination. The infected persons who are diagnosed with the disease according to the provisions of this Article must receive the treatment. The residence of the expatriates shall remain valid until the end of its specified period. It can be renewed if the result of the medical examination shows that the expatriate is fit.
- The infected persons have the right to receive the necessary health care and treatment in the governmental health facilities, in accordance with the procedures determined by the executive regulations of the aforementioned law.
- The infected persons have the right to protect the confidentiality of their information related to the disease. Such information cannot be revealed except in the cases prescribed by law.
- It is prohibited to impose any restrictions or special conditions on the persons infected with communicable diseases that prevent them from obtaining their rights mentioned in the valid legislations in the State, with considering their health condition, without prejudice to the necessary measures required to limit and prevent the communicable diseases.
Their Duties and Obligations
- It is prohibited for a person who knows that he is infected with or is suspected to have any of the communicable diseases to travel or move to any place other than the health facility except with the approval of the Ministry or the Health Authority.
- It is prohibited for any comer, who knows that he is infected or suspected to have Coronavirus disease or other communicable diseases, to enter the country except after informing the Ministry or the Health Authority and obtaining their approval. He must notify them immediately upon reaching the State, in accordance with the procedures determined by the executive regulation of this law.
- The person who knows that he is infected with Corona virus or other communicable diseases must head to the Ministry of the Health Authority to receive the treatment, advice and awareness of the risks of the infection and ways of its transmission.
- The infected person must adhere to the preventive measures, implement the medical prescriptions and adhere to the instructions given to him, in order to prevent the transmission of infection to others.
The punishment for violating any of the previous four obligations is imprisonment and a fine not less than ten thousand AED and not exceeding fifty thousand AED, or one of these two penalties.
- It is prohibited for any person, who knows that he is infected, to behave intentionally in any way transmitting the disease to others. This is the most serious legal obligation for the patient. Its violation results in imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years and a fine not less than fifty thousand AED and not exceeding one hundred thousand AED, or one of these two penalties. In the event of repetition, the imprisonment period is doubled.
The provisions of law regarding the rights of the Corona-virus patients or other communicable diseases are sufficient to protect the patient and his rights in the valid legislations in the State. They also guarantee his right in treatment and recovery from illness, in addition to ensuring the confidentiality of his information. As for the obligations imposed by law on the patient, they only protect the society from transmission of the virus from the patient to the healthy persons and from the spread of diseases and pandemics.
Mohamed Mahmoud Al Marzooqi law firm
Attorney / Mohamed Al Marzooqi
Mohamed Al Marzooqi advocates & Consultancy
Lawyer in Abu Dhabi, Dubai – UAE
