Now, Kerala decides to use GPS tracking to rein in coronavirus fugitives

Kochi: With reports coming out that people are jumping coronavirus quarantine,  the Kerala government has decided to use geo-tracking technologies to locate and rein them in.

This week there have been reports from Ernakulam, Pathanamthitta, Mangaluru and Hyderabad of people either resisting coronavirus testing or fleeing quarantine, health authorities in Thiruvananthapuram have started to use geo mapping and GPS tracking to keep an eye on home-quarantined persons.

In February, two China-returned persons who were under observation in Kozhikode left the country for Saudi Arabia without informing the authorities.

In another instance, a panchayat president from Pathanamthitta district, who was under home quarantine, was given a warning and sent back after he turned up for a meeting at the district collectorate.  

This week, the Pathanamthitta administration started implementing the GPS tracking system to keep coronavirus suspects under watch at home. The collector of the district, P B Nooh, declared on his Facebook wall that strict legal action would be taken against those who do not stay within isolation.

At present there are 900 persons under quarantine--at home or in hospital--in Kerala. Some 60 engineering students have been roped in to man the GPS tracking system. This requires them to collecting details of the people and contacting them every morning and evening.

If any of the marked individuals steps out of the house, the GPS tracking system can identify whether he/she is included in the high-risk category or only an asymptomatic secondary suspect.