Russian officials will track coronavirus patients' geolocation data to design a national warning system

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has ordered Russia’s Communications Ministry to develop a system that can track people who have come into contact with patients who have tested positive for coronavirus. According to the federal government’s website, the system should analyze specific individuals’ geolocation data from telecommunications companies.

Mishustin instructed officials to find a way to notify those who may have come into contact with those infected with the coronavirus. This data will also be provided to regional-level task forces now fighting the spread of COVID-19.

• Israel’s Health Ministry recently launched a mobile app called “Hamagen” that tracks a user’s whereabouts and then compares them to the known movements of confirmed COVID-19 cases, to check if their paths have overlapped in the previous two weeks.