With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to expand, the Taiwanese government has created a kind of "electronic fence" based on GPS of mobilein order to be able to monitor location of citizens in quarantine.
Governments around the world are leveraging the technological tools at their disposal to help citizens and businesses quarantined to reduce the spread of the virus. Taiwan however is the first country that created this tracking system through phone.
Telephone tracking system
According to the new system, the location of smartphone keep a close eye on the police and local authorities when alert when a citizen is normally in quarantine, trying to get out of his house or turn off device of.
Within 15 minutes of being notified, authorities are contacting these citizens or visiting their home. In addition, the police call twice a day to make sure that the users they don't leave their devices at home so they can't detect them.
The head of Taiwan's Cyber Security Department, Jyan Hong-Wei, who works with telecommunications companies to enforce the quarantine, said: "The goal is to stop people from circulating and spreading the infection."
Privacy concerns
Concerns about protection privacy policies have led to stricter access policies data because of the coronavirus. However, this system in Taiwan has not received much criticism for the time being. The country counts about 108 cases so far, a number that is considered to be zero compared to the more than 80.000 cases in neighboring China.
A stewardess in Taipei who was quarantined 14 days after returning from a trip to Europe, said that authorities had reprimanded her when she did not answer a control call that morning while sleeping.
"I was told the police would come to my house if I did not answer another phone call," said a woman named Xiaomei. "They treat me like a prisoner."
Those who violate the quarantine rules can pay fines of T $ 1 million ($ 32.955).
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