GPS to track home quarantined

After getting reports and complaints of home-quarantined people roaming outside, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is mulling using cell phone location

After getting reports and complaints of home-quarantined people roaming outside, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is mulling using cell phone location data to ensure they strictly follow it.

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Health department officials said BMC is likely to take help of GPS technology to track home-quarantined people for 14 days.

A senior official from the civic health department said, “As of now, we are keeping a watch on those quarantined at home, but considering the increasing number of travellers flouting rules, we are thinking of using GPS to ensure they are indoors.”

He said they will require technical assistance from the police department to get details of those home-quarantined. He said that those found violating home quarantine rules will be forcefully sent to the institutional quarantine facility.

The civic body is already using mobile data to track high-risk and low-risk contacts of those who have tested positive. Recently as an experimental basis, the civic body tracked a home-quarantined person by using GPS.