Israel stepped up efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus and launched a new GPS tracking system on Sunday to better monitor quarantined Israelis.
Tens of thousands of quarantined people received a text message from Israeli police with a link asking them to provide their GPS location, according to a statement from the Ministry of Public Security.
The tracking system developed by the Israeli police in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Security has been expanded after a successful pilot phase in recent weeks.
Israel has come to grips with an unprecedented resurgence of COVID-19 cases fueled by the highly transmissible Delta variant in recent months, prompting the Israeli government to launch new pandemic measures.
In the event that a person decides not to use the system, “the police will assist in surveillance activities around the quarantine location,” according to the terms of the system as listed on a government website.
Public Security Minister Omer Barlev called the service “essential” in order to “streamline” enforcement of the quarantine and save law enforcement trips to the homes of self-isolating people.
“I recommend anyone who receives a message to click the link and confirm activation of the temporary location,” Barlev said in the statement, adding that any information submitted to the system will not be saved.
Israel requires all travelers entering from abroad to undergo a seven-day self-isolation period, at the end of which they must present a negative PCR test. Israelis who received a third COVID-19 vaccination are exempt from quarantine, as are those who recently recovered from the disease and those who received their first two doses within the last six months.
Reprinted with permission from i24NEWS.
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