As Maharashtra deals with the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, the Nagpur administration has decided to deploy facial recognition technology to track COVID-19 positive patients' as part of the measures such as movement restrictions and curfew in containment zones. 

On Monday, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) announced that they will launch facial recognition by 3,800 CCTVs that are installed across the city. This step has earned the city the distinction of being the first city to deploy the technology to arrest the increase of COVID infections. 

The photos of people - with and without masks - who tested positive for COVID-19 will be uploaded on the AI system, and automatically be detected by the CCTV system if they break the home quarantine or are found roaming about in the city. These people will be fined and put into an institutional quarantine. “Pictures of those who test negative will be automatically deleted. The app will be connected with the city operation centre of the Smart City Project at the NMC headquarters,” Radhakrishnan said.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be deployed to help the system perform facial recognition. “CCTVs will detect the patient automatically and create an alert. Zonal civic staff will then visit the home of the violator immediately, levy a fine of Rs 5,000, and admit the person in an institutional quarantine,” Radhakrishnan said.