Israel pilots tracking bracelets and home quarantine for returning travellers

Tracking bracelets: Israelis arriving at Ben Gurion airport are the first to trial self quarantine at home. Photo / Getty Images

Israeli travellers arriving from abroad will now be given an alternative to two weeks in a quarantine hotel: a tracking bracelet, and self-manged isolation from home.

From Monday a pilot programme has begun at Ben Gurion Airport – Israel's main international travel hub – will be offering travellers the option to take mandatory isolation into their own hands.

In the trial 100 passengers will be able to bypass the state funded quarantine hotels, in which travellers are normally expected to remain for up to two weeks at the Israeli government's expense.

The new system relies on a bracelet and wall-mounted tracker, a connection to a smartphone and – to some extent – trust.

Authorities will be alerted if the person isolating at home removes the bracelet or leaves too far from the tracking monitor.

"There is potential for the pilot to quickly expand into a project consisting of thousands of units for more wide scale use to assist in quarantine compliance in Israel," SuperCom, the company behind the technology told Reuters.

It could save returnees the anguish of staying in an unfamiliar quarantine facility and the Israeli state a large amount of money in hotel bills.

The Times of Israel reports that electronic supervision will be available to returnees older than 14. If travellers are unable to quarantine at home they will be escorted to a managed isolation hotel, as an alternative.

Supercom says the option of quarantining at home has been hugely popular both with over 90 per cent of returning travellers and their client the Israeli government, which has already placed orders for more of the systems.

"We have increased our production capacity to allow rapid deployment of thousands of units, and invite more nations around the world to pilot our technology and solution as well, " said Ordan Trabelsi, SuperCom president.