Kentucky Straps Ankle Monitors On Folks With COVID-19 Who Refuse To Self-Isolate

Guardian Ankle Monitoring Service / Facebook

In Louisville, Kentucky circuit judges have ordered two individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 to wear GPS tracking ankle bracelets after they broke quarantine orders to stay home and self-isolate.

“The home incarceration program is well-suited for this,” Courier Journal reported Amy Hess saying, the city’s chief of public services. “We can monitor activity after (the monitoring device) gets affixed to them … to make sure they’re not further affecting the community.” 

The mayor of Lousiville, Greg Fischer says they are dealing with more than 200 cases of coronavirus, and for those who are not taking it seriously and social distancing will be dealt with accordingly. He says this is not something he wants to do but the city is feeling its way through this and trying to figure out how to keep the people safe.

Once a person is confirmed to have COVID-19 in Kentucky, public health officials can make a request to the circuit court for that person to be isolated in their home. A judge of the court can then approve or deny that request. If approved and the person is caught leaving their home, the court can then strap a GPS ankle bracelet to that person to monitor their movements.

As of April 3rd, 2020, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has reported a total of 770 individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and 31 deaths. The United States as a whole has a total of 258,112 confirmed cases and 6,572 deaths, mostly from New York.