South Korea is currently afflicted by the MERS virus which has to date claimed six lives. There are 87 who have been infected and there are about 2,300 people in the country who have since been quarantined. Whether or not these 2,300 people have the disease remains to be seen.However instead of taking the chance that these people might wander/sneak out and potentially infect other people, the South Korean government has recently announced that they will begin tracking the smartphones of those who have been quarantined to help ensure that they stay in their homes and not leave them to avoid the risk of a possible outbreak.
The notion of smartphone tracking is somewhat controversial as it basically an invasion of privacy. However according to the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan, he calls it an unavoidable measure. According to Choi, “Please understand this is an unavoidable measure for the sake of our neighbors and families.”
Choi adds that at the moment they have the situation under control, namely because it has been contained to health facilities, which is why it is important that those who are quarantined to not leave their homes. “We can absolutely control this because all MERS cases in our country are infections in health facilities, not spreading into communities.”
[Image credit – Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images]
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