Inbound Travelers will be required to wear Electronic Monitoring Equipment

The authorities said on Monday (August 3) that Singapore will make some inbound travelers wear electronic monitoring equipment to ensure they comply with the coronavirus quarantine as the country is gradually reopening its borders to foreign nationals.

These electronic devices will be provided to inbound travelers including residents and citizens from some selected countries from next Tuesday (August 11). Inbound travelers from selected countries will be allowed to be quarantined at their home instead of at the facilities designated by the country.

Travelers arriving in Singapore will be required to activate devices that will use Bluetooth and GPS signals when they arrive home and will receive a notification that must be confirmed on the device. Any attempt to go outside the home or tamper with equipment will alert the authorities.

As per the statement from authorities, inbound travelers aged 12 and below will not have to wear the device. It will not store any personal data and does not have any video or voice recording function.

The country is also planning to provide a wearable virus tracking dongle to all residents and severely penalize their violations of isolation and social distancing regulations.

In Hong Kong and South Korea, similar measures have been taken to track people’s activities during quarantine.

Hong Kong launched a plan in March to allow inbound passengers to use slim electronic wristbands, similar to tags worn by hospital patients, to isolate arriving passengers. South Korea has used similar wristbands connected to smart phone apps for those who violated quarantine regulations.

In regard to COVID-19 transmission in Singapore, the country has reported a total number of 55,292 confirmed cases which are under treatment and 27 patients have died due to virus. However, 49,609 patients who tested positive to COVID-19 have completely recovered from the virus, as of Tuesday (August 11).