Turkey Launches 'China-Style' Coronavirus Tracker

Photo: Communcations Directorate

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Turkey has launched a project for reducing the spread of the novel coronavirus by using location data from patients' mobile devices, the Presidency's Communications Directorate announced yesterday (April 8).

The Health Ministry developed the Pandemic Isolation Tracking Project to stem the spread of Covid-19 by tracking patients diagnosed with the disease and ensuring they adhere to the government's quarantine procedure, it said.

A warning message will be sent to patients' mobile phones if they violate the quarantine process. If they do not return to isolation, their situations will be shared with the police and "necessary administrative measures and sanctions" will be implemented for those patients.

Law enforcement officers will also be able to access people's information during road controls.

Similar contact tracing projects have been developed in various countries as a response to the pandemic, most notably in China, where people are given color codes, green, yellow or red, which indicate their health status.

As such systems cause concern over personal privacy, the Communications Directorate noted that the project obtained the necessary permissions in line with Article 12 of Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data. The patients' data would not be used for any other purposes and will be under state guarantee, it said.

The project was developed in cooperation with the Health Ministry, Information and Communication Technologies Authority and all GSM operators.

(PT/VK)