Trackerwave, a bracelet that contains GPS sensing hardware, sets out a geo-fence perimeter and notifies authorities if the wearer strays outside this perimeter, tampers with the device or if their mobile phones, or data/WiFi, is switched off.
Similar to ankle bracelets and other electronic tracking devices worn by parolees, Trackerwave requires minimal oversight from enforcement agencies or healthcare workers – who can keep track of the patients through a cloud monitoring app that receives relevant patient data. The durable 9gm device, which comes with a temperature sensor, is waterproof and can be sanitised and reused.
And at US$50 (RM207), Trackerwave comes at a fraction of the cost of quarantines at hotels and quarantine centres – which can cost thousands of ringgit per person and may not be as comfortable as being quarantined at home.
Speaking to FMT, several former patients at quarantine centres related frustratingly long waits to get food, beds and treatment at these centres. Apart from describing the toilets as “disgusting” and the overall cleanliness as “worrying”, patients have also told FMT how they have had to sleep on empty stomachs after skipping the long queues for food.
One patient even said he felt like he was “very much in hell”.
But for patients like these, Trackerwave may just be heaven-sent.
How it works
The technology is hardly revolutionary, with South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan among those using similar electronic wristbands for quarantine purposes since last year.
Trackerwave is currently being used in Saudi Arabia and several Indian states, all of which have reported stricter quarantine enforcement as a result.
The device runs on replaceable coin batteries – the type commonly found in watches and calculators. Each battery can last six months.
Trackerwave’s mobile phone app, which is available on iOS and Android, serves as a platform for patients to record and upload their symptoms to the cloud monitoring system.
The mobile phone app and the cloud monitoring system show the patient’s status as “green” as long as the patient remains within the geo-fencing perimeter, does not tamper with the device and their mobile phones remain connected to the internet.
If this happens, the patient’s status will turn to “red” and the command centre, and police, will be notified immediately.
“The technology ensures that patients and their family members maintain home quarantine without committing any violations, which could then lead to potentially even greater spread of the disease,” Trackerwave Pvt Ltd director Pradeep Vadakkekhatt told FMT.
“This then frees up space at Covid-19 care centres and hospitals for moderate to severe cases, thereby increasing the capacity at hospitals.
“The technology also makes for reduced administrative overheads in monitoring Covid-19 patients as mild and asymptomatic patients can be managed effectively through home quarantine, with monitoring of patients’ daily vitals and temperature (as per their updates on the app) allowing for early action upon detecting signs of deteriorating symptoms.”
Apart from the decrease in the cost of monitoring those under quarantine, health department staff have also greatly reduced the amount of time spent interacting with those under quarantine.
Implementation in Malaysia
Roshan Milan, Trackerwave’s partner in Malaysia, told FMT that the company has held discussions with federal authorities here about implementing the wristbands last year – but no agreements were reached.
On March 3, health minister Dr Adham Baba announced that an order to wear a tracking device would be among the five new provisions to come into force on May 11 under the Emergency (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021.
“Under this Ordinance, penalties will be imposed on individuals affixed with a tracing device or detection tool if they destroy, damage, lose or tamper with the device,” Adham said in a joint statement with de-facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan.
In a Bernama report, Adham said that the high-tech device in the form of a wristband would be mandatory for three categories — individuals who tested positive for Covid-19; persons under investigation or close contacts of Covid-19 patients; and persons under surveillance.
When contacted, a health ministry spokesperson said she had “yet to get any feedback” on whether such devices have been rolled out, instead directing FMT to the ministry’s Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC).
Calls to the three CPRC hotline numbers displayed on the ministry’s Covid-19 website were not answered before press time.
However, a WhatsApp message from CPRC eventually confirmed that electronic tracking devices such as those mentioned by Adham are “still not used”.
Staying home during quarantine
The dangers of breaking a home quarantine order are well-documented.
Perhaps the most notable case of a home quarantine order gone awry came last July when news broke of the Sivagangga cluster in Kedah.
The cluster’s index case returned to Malaysia from Sivagangga, Tamil Nadu, India, and while he initially tested negative upon arrival at KLIA, subsequent screenings saw him test positive.
Although he was placed under a mandatory home quarantine order for 14 days, he was later found to have visited four premises in Kubang Pasu – with a total of 45 cases eventually linked to the cluster he sparked.
He was later jailed five months and fined RM12,000 after pleading guilty to flouting the quarantine order.
Earlier this week, several workers at a factory in Ayer Keroh, Melaka – who were ordered to undergo home quarantine after a screening at their workplace – allegedly violated their quarantine order by visiting shops in the area, with police now investigating the incident.
The Star reported that Ayer Keroh assemblyman Kerk Chee Yee received videos and pictures showing 15 individuals with quarantine wristbands visiting a row of shops in the area on Tuesday.
With a record number of Covid-19 cases and deaths over the past week, and hospital capacities being stretched to breaking point, a simple electronic tracking device will take a huge load off enforcement teams and healthcare workers and help limit infections in the wider community.
CLICK HERE FOR OUR LIVE UPDATE OF THE COVID-19 SITUATION IN MALAYSIA