Moscow (AFP)
Moscow is in the process of setting up a mobile application and QR Codes to verify that the population respects the rules of isolation during confinement, a senior official in the Russian capital announced on Wednesday.
The Russian capital has ordered Muscovites to stay at home and to close all non-essential businesses to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The application, which will be released online on Thursday, "will ensure self-discipline," said Edouard Lyssenko, the head of the IT department at Moscow City Hall. Users' personal data will remain secure, he said.
Technology will monitor coronavirus patients ordered to stay at home, Lyssenko told Echo Moskvy radio station, adding it will not be needed for the rest of the 12 million population. of the capital.
Other Muscovites, however, will need to request a QR Code - a barcode to be displayed on their phones - to be shown when checked when they leave their homes, added Lyssenko. Residents of the capital can only go out to walk their dog, take out the trash or go to the nearest store or pharmacy.
The system will be released when local government approves the legislation, said the senior official.
Russia's parliament passed harsh sentences on Tuesday for violating confinement or quarantine.
In announcing these containment measures last week, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced the use of an "intelligent system", initially appearing to be a reference to the capital's vast network of facial recognition cameras.
Russia has so far recorded 2,777 cases of coronavirus and 24 deaths, the majority of them in Moscow.
© 2020 AFP