Jeremy Hunt, a Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) in the UK, has recommended GPS tracking to ensure Britons comply with COVID-19 self-isolation measures. The MP believes that such drastic and anti-privacy measures are necessary because self-isolation will “remain a key part of our strategy for some time.”
Britons who re-enter the country are required, by law, to self-isolate for at least ten days; they are not allowed to leave their homes for any reason. However, the requirement is quite impractical as people have to earn a living. Therefore, up to 75% of Britons are not complying.
According to Hunt, a former Foreign Secretary, non-compliance with the self-isolation requirement is a significant part of why the virus is spreading.
“We need to raise compliance with isolation to 95%+ rates achieved in Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore,” he wrote on Twitter.
To achieve those rates, he proposed several measures, including:
“Daily contact with those asked to self-isolate – using GPS tracking to monitor compliance if necessary as happens in Taiwan and Poland. People need to know how much this matters, and if we cannot persuade them to comply at the outset, we should keep trying.”
Hunt also proposed “guaranteeing salary backfills for those who lose wages as a result of self-isolating” and “equipping and funding local councils to monitor compliance.”
GPS tracking would allow the government to monitor people’s location in real-time and identify those not complying.
