The authorities of the Russian capital stated on Friday that a system to monitor patients diagnosed with COVID-19 has been launched in the city.
"Per the mayor's order, we, for the first time, have begun using technology for social monitoring of the location of confirmed coronavirus patients who have chosen home treatment. For that, we are using various geolocation technologies. Today, first patients diagnosed with COVID-19 received smartphones with pre-installed Social Monitoring app," the head of the city government's IT department, Eduard Lysenko, told journalists.
He added that it will allow the city authorities to monitor whether people follow quarantine rules and promptly detect violations, helping to curb the further spread of the infection.
"The app will be used only by confirmed COVID-19 patients. We are not planning to use it for all Moscow citizens," Lysenko said.
Earlier this day, Moscow's COVID-19 response centre said that people younger than 45 account for nearly 50 percent of the new coronavirus patients registered in Moscow, with the infection confirmed in 17 more children.
Meanwhile, Moscow Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova said that 28 more COVID-19 patients were discharged from city hospitals over the past 24 hours, which brings the total number of recoveries to 168.
As of Friday, Russia confirmed a total of 4,149 coronavirus cases, including 34 fatalities, while Moscow’s case count was updated by 448 to 2,923.