(ETH) – The government of South Australia, one of the country’s six states, has implemented a new policy requiring Australians to use an app with facial recognition software and geolocation to prove that they are abiding by a 14-day quarantine for travel within the country.
According to Fox News, While a conservative expert described the policy as “Orwellian,” he told Fox News that it represents an improvement over the current COVID-19 policy. Australians voluntarily choose the quarantine app over alternative quarantine measures. Australia has banned international travel unless residents have a permit to leave the country.
The country has also severely restricted domestic travel. Residents must spend 14 days in quarantine upon return. According to ABC Australia, Premier Steven Marshall said he hoped the trial would be expanded to international travelers in “subsequent weeks”, making it a national first.
Those in home-based quarantine will need to download an app, developed by the South Australian Government, to prove they are staying home while required to. People wanting to return to South Australia and home quarantine will have to apply to SA Health. They will have to prove they have a place to isolate during their quarantine period and must also be fully vaccinated.
Those who are approved will have to download the South Australian Government home quarantine app, which uses geo-location and facial recognition software to track those in quarantine. The app will contact people at random asking them to provide proof of their location within 15 minutes.
