On February 26, hours before Pakistan’s health authorities confirmed the country’s first coronavirus case, the patient’s photograph and personal details, including his home address, were leaked on social media.

Yahyah Jaffery eventually recovered and wrote a newspaper column about his experience. “My photo was all over social media and I became a pariah,” he said. Over the next few days, the pattern was repeated with dozens of other patients.

In the months since, medical staff infected with Covid-19 have also had their personal details published online. According to a health department spokesperson, 20 doctors have been targeted in Sindh province alone.

The leaks indicate the challenges in maintaining privacy and protecting public data in an under-resourced country that has reported nearly 15,000 cases of coronavirus and at least 32 deaths since early March. Pakistan is now confirming close to 1,000 new Covid-19 cases a day; experts say the numbers reflect the small group of people being tested each day, about 8,000.