Russia's Moscow All Set To Launch Smart Control System For Monitoring COVID-19 Lockdown

The Russian capital is fully equipped to launch the smart control system for monitoring the observance of mandatory self-isolation by its residents should the spread of COVID-19 aggravate, Eduard Lysenko, the head of the city government's IT department, said on Saturday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th April, 2020) The Russian capital is fully equipped to launch the smart control system for monitoring the observance of mandatory self-isolation by its residents should the spread of COVID-19 aggravate, Eduard Lysenko, the head of the city government's IT department, said on Saturday.

"The capital's technical infrastructure is ready to launch a smart system for monitoring compliance with the self-isolation rules. Its launch is not required right now, but should the epidemiological situation worsen, the system can be launched quite quickly," Lysenko told reporters.

Another condition for the smart control system to be launched would be an increase in the number of quarantine violations, the official added.

Should the smart control system be launched � which would require a separate decree of the city government � the residents will have to obtain a special personal code to be able to report their movements inside the city, according to Lysenko.

"It will still be possible to move around both on foot and on public transport or private car � you just need to notify the city of your plans and have the designated code on you," the IT department chief said.

Such codes can be obtained either on the e-government portal mos.ru or by cellphone to be then stored at all times either electronically or as a printed hard copy, he said.

Citing India, China, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, the official said such systems have already been introduced and are being tested in other countries as part of measures to curb the local transmission of COVID-19. Moreover, he said several Russian regions are already monitoring people's movements, with Tatarstan, for example, using text messages to grant each person an hour-long outdoors time daily and the Nizhny Novgorod Region using QR codes.

In case of introducing the code-based system of outdoor movements, the Moscow government also plans to introduce liability for violating it, Lysenko continued.

According to Lysenko, some outdoors activities will still be allowed without receiving a code, including walking a pet near home or taking out the trash.