Concealment of potential exposure to COVID-19 and its impact on outbreak control: Lessons from the HIV response

Abstract

Globally, more than 4 million people have been infected with COVID-19, and more than 300,000 deaths have been reported across 188 countries. Concealment of one's potential exposure to the virus has negative implications for the spread of COVID-19 across the socio-ecological spectrum, including the futility of contact-tracing efforts, exposure of frontline staff, and the spread of COVID-19 in the community.Wedraw lessons learned from HIV to discuss stigma and the attribution of blame surrounding the phenomenon of concealment of one's potential exposure to COVID-19 using a socioecological perspective. This article also illustrates the psychosocial aspect of the disease, and the negative repercussions of concealment of potential exposure on transmission in the community and to front-liners, healthcare resources, and outbreak containment.