People suspected of having the coronavirus in India have received hand stamps and are being tracked using their mobile phones and personal data to help enforce quarantines, raising concerns about privacy and mass surveillance.
The outbreak, termed Covid-19, has infected more than 234,000 people worldwide and killed nearly 10,000, according to a Reuters tally.
The hand stamps include the date that a person must remain under home quarantine, and states that those marked are “proud to protect” their fellow citizens. The coronavirus outbreak has enabled authorities from China to Russia to increase surveillance, with the risk that these measures will persist even after the situation eases.In India, government officials are also pulling out citizen and reservation data from airlines and the railways to track suspected infections.
In southern Kerala state, authorities have used telephone call records, CCTV footage, and mobile phone GPS systems to track down primary and secondary contacts of coronavirus patients. Officials also published detailed time and date maps of the movement of people who tested positive. As more Covid-19 cases are reported in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged citizens to stay home and follow government instructions.
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