South Korea Considering Tracking COVID-19 Patients With GPS-Enabled Bracelet

The South Korean government is mulling the introduction of electronic bracelets that connect to one’s phone and would allow authorities to better track the movements of people ordered to self-quarantine due to the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.

While South Korea has made much progress in slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus, there are still 46,566 individuals currently under self-quarantine orders – which officials increasingly fear that many may be violating, according to the Korea Times. 

“The tagging bracelets is one of many methods which the government is seeking to introduce to keep people under self-quarantine staying where they are until the self-isolation period is over.”

Presently, the South Korean government tracks those individuals through their cell phone’s GPS function. However, implementing the bracelet would make it harder for individuals to attempt to trick the tracker by just leaving their phone at home. 

According to the outlet, police had identified a total of 75 individuals who violated self-quarantine, as of April 7. Two of the violators happened to be a couple in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, who left their cell phones at home and went to a variety of public places over five days, including an art museum, a gas station, restaurants, a school and other shops. 

The KCDC also revealed on Monday that 51 individuals from the city of Daegu and the nearby North Gyeongsang Province had tested positive for the virus once again following their release from quarantine. KCDC Director-General Jeong Eun Kyeong noted that it is possible that the virus was reactivated within the individuals, reported South Korean news agency Yonhap. 

Sourse: sputniknews.com