Tracking wristbands for quarantine management to be tested

The wristband, developed by tech firm Ginnovations, utilizes GPS technology and will send out an alert if the wearer exits a quarantine zone.

It is a single-use wristband, meaning if the user removes it, it will send a warning to authorities and a new one has to be used to continue tracking, according to a spokesperson at the AITA under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

It is to help manage people who need to be quarantined at home as a Covid precautionary measure, and could also be used to monitor those who have been in contact with patients, allowing them to be quarantined at home, the spokesperson added.

Besides tracking, the wristband also scans body temperature, detects altitude changes and calorie consumption and is waterproof, according to Ginnovations.

Do Cong Anh, deputy head of AITA, said the wristband is still under development, but there are already prototypes.

Its batteries are likely to last for around 30 days, and its price is expected to be $35.

For the tests next week the wristband will be used by passengers on certain flights coming to Vietnam.

Vietnam is not the only country considering the use of tracking wristbands to manage people in quarantine. Others like Singapore and South Korea have used the technology to monitor people who have flouted Covid prevention rules.

After being hit by a new Covid wave five weeks ago Vietnam has recorded 5,008 infections in 37 of its 63 cities and provinces.

Bac Giang and Bac Ninh continue to have the highest number of cases, 2,713 and 965.