Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that the Delhi Police has been ordered to track mobile phones of all the people in home quarantine to check their movement and ensure that there are no violations, ANI reported.
“We handed over a list of 11,084 phone numbers to police yesterday and 14,345 phone numbers today of people who have been asked to remain in home quarantine,” the chief minister said at a press conference. “The police will track if they are following the instructions on home quarantine or not.”
He added that strict action will be take against those who did not adhere to the government orders. Kejriwal said the decision was inspired by countries such as Singapore, which are using technology to enforce quarantines.
The chief minister, who insisted that there had been no instance yet to indicate that there was community transmission of the coronavirus, said the mobile phone tracing would also help identify the possible contacts of those not following the government orders.
Kejriwal’s comments came a day after Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal said home quarantine should be strictly monitored to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Tracking phones of quarantined people is also underway in several other states. Those in home quarantine in Karnataka have been asked to send selfies with their GPS coordinates every hour to the government. Andhra Pradesh government has also directed people to download an app which tracks their movements and alerts the police in case they step out of their homes.
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So far, 120 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Delhi till Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, India registered 38 deaths from 1,637 confirmed coronavirus infections.
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