Exploring New Models of Coronavirus Quarantine

The current one-size-fits-all model of 14 days hotel based quarantine undoubtedly served Australia well in the early days of the pandemic. Is it time to be more dynamic?

The National Review of Hotel Quarantine recently found that, based on better evidence about risk, it was now possible to consider additional models to supplement the standard approach to quarantine.

The review found that serious consideration should be given to the design of technological options for arrivals to validate their location. It found this would ultimately increase the range of options available and hence significantly expand quarantine capacity.

Specifically, isolation in the home (if suitable) and the use of devices to monitor location, including through smartphone applications or wearable monitoring devices (on a voluntary basis) was a core recommendation.

Given the potential for extreme outbreaks and the prohibitive cost of policing home isolation, a more efficient system might be to use technology like GPS tracking to identify a contact’s location via a mobile app. myosh has cloud-based, high volume GPS Contact Tracking Technology. If a contact leaves a pre-registered location or disables tracking, authorities receive alerts.

An app like this aids compliance and can potentially save lives. If the app is used and fewer people infect others, lives will return back to normal sooner and the economy can ramp back up. Also, limited resources can be used to more effectively track the people who elect not to use the app. That way, people who don’t want to be tracked or set out to do the wrong thing are less likely to get away with breaking the law because the authorities can spend more time on those people.

This form of tracking can only occur with user consent. If this is not granted, then alternative quarantine arrangements will need to be made. The user controls and can disable tracking at any time.

So how does GPS Contact Tracing work?

• Originally developed to protect the safety of lone workers in remote areas.
• Authorities register each contact’s location in the myosh Viking PaaS (Platform as a Service).
• Each Contact must agree and activate tracking on their phone.
• The app can also randomly ‘ping’ the contact to respond to ensure they remain with their phones (at home).
• Authorised personnel will receive notifications when a contact leaves their registered location or if their device becomes disconnected.
• A Dashboard can also be used to report and analyse contact locations and other data.

myosh spokesperson, Sarah O’Leary, says that the technology is available right now. The platform can be configured for different scenarios.

The Viking platform allows organisations to create their own ‘zero code’ applications. Create dynamic forms. Configure workflow and deploy to web and mobile. Create Interactive Analytics, share, review and drive constant improvement.

Other uses for GPS tracking:

• Lone worker tracking
• Push notifications of hazards/information when people enter specific locations
• Automated timesheets to track when people start/finish jobs based on location
• Raise Emergency alerts with GPS coordinates for people in high-risk jobs eg Security Guards

For more information on how this technology works, please contact support@myosh.com or submit the following form.

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