india

Updated: Mar 31, 2020 11:53 IST

The Karnataka government has launched a mobile application to stop those in home quarantine from breaking the rules and asked them to upload their selfies every waking hour.

The order came after a large number of violations by those placed under the mandatory 14-day home quarantine.

Those under home quarantine will have to download the app Quarantine Watch from Google Play Store and send hourly selfies from 7am to 10pm. The selfies will be then crosschecked with the global positioning system (GPS) of the sender’s home location

“So, if wrong photos are sent or pictures not sent, the government team will reach such defaulters and they are liable to be shifted to government-run mass quarantine locations,” Dr K Sudhakar, minister of medical education, said in an order.

Sudhakar is also a member of the task force set up to combat the spread of Covid-19.

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On Monday, the state saw five more new positive Sars-Cov-2 cases bringing the cumulative number to 88. This includes three people who have died and six who have been discharged.

Four of the five new cases were in Mysore and all of them worked in the same company as patient number 52 while one more new case of a 13-year-old boy has cropped up in Tumkur district. He is the son of patient number 60.

Also read: 227 new positive cases nationwide with 11 more deaths; Govt says no community transmission yet

All the new cases have been admitted to isolation words in designated hospitals of the respective districts.

Chief minister BS Yediyurappa once again appealed to the people to adhere to the lockdown and warned that if they did not do so, the government may be forced to extend it beyond April 14.

Police officials after receiving a backlash on social media for using canes on those who broke the lockdown restrictions seem to have adopted a different approach.

Now instead of caning, they are meting out punishments like having to do sit-ups, slapping themselves, hopping or even being greeted with vibhuti (holy ash) and aarti.