Compulsory self-quarantine monitoring

April 22, 2020

 

The application offers services such as i) registering personal information and address of self-quarantine location ii) Self-diagnosis of symptoms and report to official in charge iii) Alarm alert when leaving designated quarantine location iv) Guidelines for the compulsory self-quarantine and contact information of official in charge.

 

Compulsory self-quarantine monitoring application

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety developed an app in order to effectively monitor people who have been put on a compulsory self-quarantine by the government authorities--e.g. who are waiting for the test results and those who are waiting to be tested for identified risks, including long-stay foreigners. (Note: The compulsory self-quarantine is imposed through an official government order by the health authorities.) This was urgently introduced in response to the challenges the Government recently experienced with those who violated the quarantine orders and infected more people by moving around. On 6 March, the Government announced that it will start utilizing this app for 32,400 persons.

The app has two types: one for quarantined COVID-19 persons and the other for government officials in charge of monitoring them. Quarantined persons register their personal information and their quarantine locations (as designated by the authorities) so that notifications are made when they move out of a designated area. The result of self-diagnosis on health is automatically shared with government personnel in charge of monitoring twice a day. Furthermore, police services can be requested if the quarantined person leaves the designated location.

Under the Infection Disease Control and Prevention Act, Korean nationals who refuse to abide by the compulsory quarantine could be imprisoned up to one year or fined up to 10 million Korean won (around USD 8,427). Foreigners who refuse to install the app or move out of the quarantine area without permission will be immediately deported from ROK. The app also provides daily rules to live by for quarantined persons and contact information about government officials in charge.

In order to effectively enforce the quarantine, the police action is also linked with this app. When the health officials report that quarantined persons have left their designated locations and cannot be contacted, the police are to dispatch their personnel to track them down, and help transfer them back to their self-quarantine locations.