Allegations of affairs, revelations of membership of religious sects: South Korea’s openness about infected patients has been key in its fight against the coronavirus but raised uncomfortable questions over privacy and stigmatization.

South Korea has confirmed more than 7,500 infections, one of the the largest totals outside China, where the virus first emerged, although new case numbers have been declining for several days.

Officials say that has been made possible by widespread testing of potential contacts — the South has carried out more than 210,000.

Across the country, local authorities have been issuing emergency alerts by mobile phone to those living or working in districts where new cases have been confirmed.

The text message arrives with a shrieking warning, announcing nearby locations visited by patients before they were diagnosed with the virus and their links to other cases.

More information is available on municipal websites, sometimes with breakdowns of individuals’ daily schedules, even down to the minute, and details of their residence and employer — often making them identifiable individually.

In a country where virtually everyone owns a smartphone, doxxing — maliciously spreading private information about individuals and businesses online — has long been a problem.

And the consequences have been sometimes been embarrassing, even brutal, with the National Human Rights Commission describing them as “human rights violations”.

“We can’t help but worry about the situation where the confirmed patients become subject to secondary damages, such as being criticized, ridiculed and abhorred online,” it said in a statement.

Two confirmed patients have been accused of having an extra-marital affair, after their travel logs showed similarities.