15 individuals in quarantine cannot be located
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government has signed a contract for a program that will facilitate the electronic monitoring of quarantined individuals.
The program is expected to help curb breaches of the quarantine protocols, which health officials have expressed can lead to further spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
Health officials have projected that by the end of May there could be as many as 125 cases if there is failure to strictly comply with the emergency protocols, including the quarantine measures.
Hubbcat Solution was selected from seven proposed digital solutions.
According to health consultant in the Office of the Prime Minister Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis, the program will create a perimeter around the site of the quarantine individual and alarm when there is a breach, alerting members of the surveillance unit and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, who will visit the property.
“This web and mobile application is simple and easy to use
“It is a 24-hour monitoring service for all those in home quarantine and isolation.
“It provides geofencing capabilities, which pre-programs virtual boundaries around the property of those in quarantine and isolation.
Dahl-Regis said privacy is an important feature and the information collected form individuals will remain anonymous.
Dahl-Regis reminded quarantined individuals that the penalties for breach of the self-isolation requirements carried a $20,000 and/or five-year sentence upon conviction.
She also said Hubbcat Solutions will allow health officials to monitor individuals and their conditions remotely without threatening others.
Health officials previously called the hundreds of individuals in quarantine.
Missing
As of yesterday, there were 497 people in quarantine — 324 in home quarantine and 46 in government quarantine in New Providence; 93 in home quarantine and four in a government facility in Grand Bahama; and 30 in home quarantine in Bimini.
Last week, health officials revealed last week that 12 quarantined individuals who were potentially exposed to the novel coronavirus could not be located.
As of yesterday, that figure had grown to 15.
According to Dahl-Regis, the 12 individuals had past the 14-day quarantine period, but had not been retested to verify their COVID-19 status.
A total of 1,293 had been quarantined since the beginning of the outbreak.
This means the Ministry of Health success rate for contract tracing stands at 98.8 percent.
Today, Dahl-Regis said with use of the electronic monitoring program it is hoped the success rate will be improved to 100 percent.
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