Covid-19 is a virus that requires us not to be in contact. All physical contacts are not recommended, and due to this, our society has changed a lot. Lockdown measures were imposed and governments of almost all countries strongly pushed social distancing as well. Not to mention, the government has been tracking people and matching the route of people to reduce the spread of the virus. However, the issue of human rights infringement is an arguable topic when it comes to route tracking of citizens.
There are various ways that we are dealing with this virus with a lot of methods by using a lot of things. One of the biggest things must have been the use of GPS and CCTV to define the route of the people who were infected and track them. The South Korean government has put great effort into this and prevented even a bigger spread for using the route tracking method. Also, by making the information accessible to all of the people, it was easier for people to avoid the place that the confirmed patient has been to. This is able to spread person-to-person transmission and people being aware of the location. It is one of the most effective and efficient ways that can be used to prevent the spread.
Through tracking people confirmed with the virus, it was able to make a faster decision and sanitize the area to make sure that the virus is not spread in the future. Also, by notifying people, people can be aware of and avoid visiting certain places until the prevention is finished. Most people were able to be known and alerted by the government, and this makes it easier for people to be cautious about their moves.
On the other hand, there are a lot of opinions that this policy and system is taking away people’s privacy. The route tracking method inevitably exposes people’s location to all of the people who might drive to confirm people at a corner. Also, this shows a very specific location where people have been, and this also causes people terrified to visit some shops, restaurants, and more. Then, people start to avoid that place no matter what. By revealing the routes of the confirmed people can invade privacy, and give obstacles to the business of certain places.
At this point, it is worth it for us to think if it is right to publish all of the information about the confirmed people’s information such as gender, age, route, and more. It is very sure that this has helped a lot of people to be aware of it. The system itself was very successful and it was able to prevent the spread of the virus. However, it is vital to make sure to keep people’s privacy and rights not to be excluded from society. Because this has become our daily life, we are having another standard.
