Mandatory sim and app used to track down movement
A free sim card valued at 49 baht is being provided by The National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) to every foreigner as well as Thais who had have travelled from countries that have have been designated as ‘high risk’ of Covid-19 infections. These countries include China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Italy, and Macau (as of the time of publishing). According to NBTC secretary-general Thakorn Tanthasit, the AoT Airports’ new application has more than 7,000 downloads since it went live on March 12.
“The sim card will be used together with the AoT Airports application, to help track the position of users for 14 days to verify that they remain in quarantine. The app will track the position of the phone for 14 days and will alert authorities if it leaves the designated quarantine area. After 14 days have passed, it will stop tracking and the system will delete the data immediately.”
“The NBTC has coordinated with the Immigration Bureau to ask all arrivals from high-risk countries to download this app on their phone. Those who refuse to comply will be denied access to the Kingdom, according to Section 12 of the Immigration Act.”
“As for those who had entered Thailand before March 12 and have not downloaded the app yet, the Department of Disease Control will submit their names to the NBTC so that we can notify them to download the app as soon as possible.”
“Currently we are monitoring about 1,300 Thais who have returned from South Korea and tested negative for Covid-19. However, they still have to remain in self-quarantine at home until the incubation period of 14 days has passed, and this app can tell us exactly where they are at all times.”
SOURCE: The Nation
