Ramping up its efforts to stave off the spread of coronavirus, Israel launched on Sunday a new GPS tracking system to better monitor quarantined Israelis.
According to a Public Security Ministry statement, tens of thousands of quarantined people received a text message from Israel Police with a link asking them to provide their GPS location.
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Police officers enforcing coronavirus restrictions at a local business
(Photo: Shaul Golan)
The tracking system — developed by Israel Police in tandem with the Public Security Ministry — was expanded after a successful pilot period in recent weeks.
Israel in recent months has come to grips with an unprecedented resurgence of COVID-19 cases driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant, prompting the Israeli government to introduce new pandemic measures.
In case an individual chooses to opt out of using the system, police "will shore up monitoring activities around the location of quarantine," according to the terms of the system listed on a government web page.
Public Security Minister Omer Barlev called the service "essential" for "streamlining" the enforcement of quarantine and saving law enforcement trips to homes of self-isolating individuals.
"I recommend anyone who receives a message to click on the link and confirm the activation of the temporary location," Barlev said in the statement, further adding that all information provided to the system will not be stored.
Israel requires all travelers arriving from abroad to enter a seven-day self-isolation period, at the end of which they will have to present a negative PCR test. Israelis who have received a third COVID-19 shot are exempt from quarantining, as well as those who have recently recovered from the disease and those who received their first two doses within the last six months.