"Send Selfies Every Hour," Those Under Home Quarantine In Karnataka Told

Karnataka Coronavirus Cases: 43,000 people have been under watch since start of the outbreak.

Those under home quarantine in Karnataka, the southern state which has recorded more than 80 coronavirus cases and three deaths so far, have been asked to send their selfies every hour to the state government. Violation of the new rule will land them in government-run mass quarantine facilities, a state minister said on Monday.

"All persons under home quarantine shall send their selfies to the government on a mobile application every hour. Failing to do so, teams will reach such defaulters and they will be liable to be shifted to quarantine centres made by the government," Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar told reporters on a day when India recorded the largest increase in COVID-19 cases with 227 fresh cases.

The new rule comes after 10 people, who were earlier placed under home quarantine in Bengaluru, escaped and were later arrested from their hometowns. "A case has been registered against them," said BH Anil Kumar, commissioner of city's civic body - Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike or BBMP.

Earlier this month, one person - suspected to have contracted the infection - had escaped from a hospital in Mangalore. He was traced after a team of cops launched a search.

The rule exempts people from sending selfies between 10 pm and 7 am. The pictures will be monitored by a team of officials and selfies have to be sent by an app that is available on Google's Playstore. 

Forty-three thousand people have been under watch in the southern since the start of the outbreak. About 30,000 of them have completed their 14-day mandatory home quarantine. So far, 142 have been shifted from home quarantine to state-run mass quarantine facility.

On Sunday, the home quarantine enforcement squad isolated 22 people based on the complaints received from public.

India is under a 21-lockdown as centre repeatedly urges people to ensure social distancing. The country has 1,117 active COVID-19 cases, 101 people have been discharged, according to Union Health Ministry. Thirty-two deaths have been registered.

Worldwide, COVID-19 has infected over half a million, more than 35,000 deaths.