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  • Only a handful of the world's countries are unscathed by the coronavirus.

  • For the majority battling the disease there is no single answer,

  • so many are testing out

  • different measures to fight the disease.

  • Texas tried roadblocks to stop the spread.

  • South Korea has aggressively tested for the disease.

  • Italy has extended its emergency anti-coronavirus

  • measures with a lockdown

  • of the entire country.

  • Most agree keeping people at home is vital.

  • Hong Kong has one the best records in fighting the virus,

  • just four deaths in a population of seven and half million.

  • That's not much smaller than New York.

  • The 2003 SARS outbreak lives long in the memory

  • and the city brought in tough early measures

  • to get ahead.

  • By the end of January Hong Kong closed schools,

  • it sent all of its public servants home.

  • The semiautonomous Chinese territory is taking no chances.

  • On March 19, the Hong Kong government began

  • enforcing a compulsory 14-day quarantine

  • for anyone arriving from overseas.

  • Arrivals are instructed to download an app - 'StayHomeSafe' -

  • which pairs with an electronic bracelet.

  • So far, 65,000 have been issued.

  • While the product is new, the technology - geofencing -

  • is actually pretty old.

  • If you look at the clothes, the clothes often has a tag on it, right?

  • If you leave the shop with the tag on,

  • the alarm will sound. This is geofencing.

  • It's geofencing for the clothes.

  • How does your application of geofencing

  • work in the current crisis?

  • Basically, in our apartment,

  • we have different kinds of signals beyond GPS.

  • These signals can be wifi signals,

  • cellular signals, bluetooth signals.

  • So these devices offer a very rich set of signals unique to your home.

  • So just by learning the signature of where you live,

  • you know whether the person is inside a place or not.

  • Like a virtual boundary.

  • Yes, it's like a virtual boundary

  • Some people worry about the privacy implications of tracking people,

  • but you said that actually

  • this is privacy preserving to a certain degree?

  • Your location is not being recorded.

  • It's only that you are inside the home or outside.

  • So as long as you're inside, the government would be happy,

  • they're not checking where you are exactly,

  • so long as you're inside the quarantine place.

  • Once you are stepping out, alert will be given to the government.

  • There have been several reports of the wristbands failing.

  • Despite this, it's believed many of Hong Kong's positive outcomes

  • are due to conscientious citizens supporting tough government measures.

  • The coronavirus has raised difficult questions

  • about our freedom and privacy

  • when the health of a population is at severe risk.

  • In Hong Kong, breaking your quarantine could result in a hefty fine,

  • jail time or even

  • being shipped off to a government facility.

Only a handful of the world's countries are unscathed by the coronavirus.

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