New Quarantine Wristbands Will Work Better: Govt

The government on Wednesday admitted there are limitations as to the effectiveness of wristbands given to people in home quarantine due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and said a new design will help track people's whereabouts much better.

Chief Information Officer Victor Lam noted that the bracelets handed out in the past week to some 30,000 arrivals are not electronic or "smart" devices, and simply have a QR code that can be scanned by a mobile phone app.

There's no alert to the authorities if a person wearing such a wristband leaves their home despite being under a 14-day quarantine order, and officials could be none the wiser if escapees leave their phones behind.

The loophole in the monitoring arrangements became apparent in the past of couple of days, as social media posts showed people wearing the wristbands eating out in restaurants or going shopping for food.

Lam conceded that the bracelets aren't foolproof, and that only occasional calls are made to ask those in quarantine to scan the QR code with their phone.

But he said from Wednesday, people arriving in the SAR from Europe or America will be given a new type of wristband which is electronic and connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth.

He told RTHK's Janice Wong that the new wristband can be used to monitor the whereabouts of the person wearing it, and officials will receive an alert if the wristband loses its connection with the mobile phone – which can be tracked.

"We pair the Bluetooth-enabled wristband with the smartphone and if the person cuts the wristband or brings the wristband out, leaving the smartphone at home, that person will also be detected as a record in our system," Lam said.

He added that the authorities aim to give out around 1,000 new wristbands each day, and eventually this type could be used for all those arriving in the city during the coronavirus pandemic.