Anonymous testing centres are exempted from the IDA?
is that a fact or you are assuming again?
can u provide proof that they are exempted?
Dr Tan and partners are not exempted from the Infectious Disease Act... so is AFA....
that is why they publish the info on their website.
http://afa.org.sg/law-and-hiv-in-singapore/
The legal framework governing HIV in Singapore is set out in the Infectious Disease Act, which relates to the quarantine and prevention of infectious diseases, originally enacted in 1976 and amended in January 2016. It encompasses five areas of concern regarding people living with HIV in Singapore: counseling requirements, sexual activity, blood donation, protection of identity, and disclosure of status.
The Director of Medical Services may require a person diagnosed with HIV to undergo counseling at a government-recommended healthcare institution, whereby the patient is expected to comply with precautions and safety measures specified during the learning session.
Sexual intercourse (defined as vaginal, anal, oral penile penetration, and the act of cunnilingus on females) is prohibited if a person is aware of his or her HIV-positive status, unless the sexual partner is informed of the risk of contracting HIV prior to the encounter, and has voluntarily agreed to accept this risk. If a person is not aware of his or her HIV status, but has reason to believe that there has been significant exposure risk, the same rule of disclosure applies, otherwise he or she would need an HIV-negative test prior to the sexual act, or should take reasonable precautions to reduce risk of transmission. One of these three requirements must be fulfilled.
People living with HIV are not allowed to donate blood at any blood bank in Singapore, nor participate in any activity that is likely to transmit or spread AIDS or HIV infection to another person.
The duty of confidentiality is limited to persons in performance or exercise of his/her functions or duties under this Act i.e., medical practitioners, health care workers, government authorities in the enforcing control of infectious diseases in Singapore. Disclosure of another person’s HIV-reactive status while performing such functions is considered an offense, except in the following cases:
when the person with HIV has consented to disclosure of his or her status
when the person is providing information to a police officer concerning commission of or the intention of any other person to commit offence punishable under the Penal Code
when ordered to do so by a court
when providing information to the healthcare worker in charge of treatment or counseling
when a blood, organ, semen, or breast milk bank has received donations from the person with HIV
for anonymous statistical and epidemiologic reports
to the sexual assault victims
to the Controller of Immigration for the purposes of the Immigration Act
to the next-of-kin, upon death of person with HIV
to person/s deemed applicable by the Director of Health Services, in the interest of public health
upon authorization by the Minister of Health for the purposes of public health or public safety
The Director of Health Services has the authority to disclose any information related to a person whom he reasonably believes to be infected with HIV to a healthcare worker or a first responder who has a risk of exposure. In relation to this, a medical practitioner may disclose information about the person to the spouse, former spouse, or other sexual contacts. This disclosure should be done if medically appropriate, upon determination of a significant transmission risk, and after counseling the person with HIV regarding the need to disclose and the intent to notify potentially exposed people if he himself would not do so. If the healthcare professional is unable to inform the person living with HIV regarding the need to disclose to contacts, the Director may waive such requirements if he deems it medically appropriate and that there exists a significant risk of transmission.
The respective fines and prison terms for respective offences under the Infectious Disease Act are stated below. (Table 1)
Table 1. Penalties for Offences under the Infectious Disease Act
FINE NOT EXCEEDING ($) AND/OR PRISON TERM NOT EXCEEDING
Counseling, precautions, safety measures 10,000 2 years
Sexual activity 50,000 10 years
Blood donation 50,000 10 years
Protection of identity 10,000 3 months
Disclosure to contacts 10,000 3 months
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roch01
Of cos its an offence not to disclose your status regardless of whether the test is anonymous or not.
Anonymous testing centres are exempted from the IDA. Anonymous means anonymous. There is a purpose for anonymous testing, otherwise it defeats the purpose of makimg people come forward for testing.
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