The government, which has won global praise for its effective action against COVID-19, is rolling out a mobile phone-based “electronic fence” that uses location tracking to ensure people who are quarantined stay at home.
Governments worldwide are combining technology and human effort to enforce quarantines that require people who have been exposed to COVID-19 to stay at home, but Taiwan’s system is believed to be the first to use phone-tracking for the purpose.
“The goal is to stop people from running around and spreading the infection,” said Department of Cyber Security Director Jyan Hong-wei (簡宏偉), who is leading efforts to work with the nation’s telecoms to combat the coronavirus.
The system monitors phone signals to alert police and local officials if those in quarantine move away from their home or turn off their phone.
The authorities would contact or visit those who trigger an alert within 15 minutes, Jyan said.
Officials also call those quarantined twice a day to ensure they do not avoid being tracked by leaving their phone at home.
Those who break their quarantine can be fined up to NT$1 million (US$33,001).
Privacy concerns have limited the use of location data for disease-prevention efforts in nations such as the US, but the system has drawn few complaints in Taiwan, which had reported only 135 virus cases as of yesterday.
However, it has drawn some complaints for its intrusiveness.
“It’s creepy that the government is teaming up with telecoms to track our phones,” said a flight attendant in Taipei, who was put under 14-day quarantine after returning from Europe earlier this month.
The flight attendant said that she was admonished by a local administrator after failing to pick up a phone call in the morning when she was asleep.
“They said the police would come if I missed another phone call,” she said.
Many Asian nations are struggling to prevent a surge of infections from people who have returned from overseas, especially Europe.
In Hong Kong, location-tracking wristbands are given to those under quarantine.
In Singapore, the government uses text messages to contact people, who must click on a link to prove that they are at home.
Thailand has rolled out a mobile app that anyone arriving at an airport must download to help monitor where they have been in the event that they test positive for COVID-19.
Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, this week launched a mobile app to help track coronavirus cases and said that it could be used to enforce quarantine.
Other countries, such as South Korea and Israel, are using satellite-based tracking to conduct so-called “contact tracing” to identify where an infected individual might have passed the virus to others.
China has used a wide range of methods to monitor the health and whereabouts of people, and enforce restrictions on their movement.
A domestically developed “suicide drone,” also known as a loitering munition, would be tested and evaluated in July, and could enter mass production next year, Taiwan’s weapons developer said on Wednesday. The yet-to-be-named drone was among nine drone models unveiled by the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) on Tuesday. The drone has been dubbed the “Taiwanese switchblade” by Chinese-language media, due to its similarity to the US-made AeroVironment Switchblade 300, which has been used by Ukraine in counterattacks during Russia’s invasion. It has a range of more than 10km, a flight time of more than 15 minutes, and an electro-optical
GOOD INFLUENCE: Kwan said his mother tutored him at home for a few years, saying that she had to protect his ‘creativity’ as his writing had suffered Director and coproducer of the Oscar-winning absurdist comedy-drama Everything Everywhere All at Once Daniel Kwan (關家永) on Sunday dedicated the movie to his Taiwanese mother, who he said supported his creativity growing up. “She is someone who sacrificed a lot for her kids,” Kwan, 35, said backstage at the Oscars. The movie, released early last year, received a commanding 11 nominations at the Academy Awards, and won seven, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing. Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, with whom he also directed the 2016 fantasy film Swiss Army
A bipartisan US congressional delegation arrived in Taiwan yesterday on a two-day visit that is to include meetings with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other senior government officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The delegation comprises Republican US representatives and Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Ken Calvert, Tom Cole, Dave Joyce and Mike Garcia, as well as Democratic US Representative Ed Case, the ministry said in a news release. Upon their arrival at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), the five representatives were welcomed by North American Affairs Department Director-General Douglas Hsu (徐佑典), it said. During their visit, they are to meet
The Taipei City Government on Wednesday introduced of a series of tourism promotions, including free sightseeing bus tours and hotel discounts, in a bid to boost the number of international visitors. From now until June 30, 10,000 free Taipei Sightseeing Bus tickets are to be made available to travelers who stay in designated hotels for two nights, cruise passengers and European visitors transiting for more than 15 hours, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said. Eligible tourists can ask for the free four-hour unlimited ride bus tickets by presenting their passports at the hotels they stay in or from the
RSS