Hong Kong’s Faulty Wristbands Allow Quarantined to Wander Free

  • Some returning residents can’t activate mobile tracking app
  • City stepping up measures to prevent Covid-19 from spreading
A passenger shows her quarantine tracking wristband at Hong Kong International Airport on March 19.Photographer: Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images
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A glitch in Hong Kong’s electronic tracking system, designed to ensure people under compulsory quarantine orders stay at home, could potentially allow many to go outside undetected.

Some Hong Kong residents returning from overseas have found they can’t register with the app that’s meant to track their movements via their mobile phone, meaning authorities have no information on their whereabouts during the mandatory 14-day self-quarantine period.