A New COVID-19 Quarantine Directive: QDex Evaluated Dynamic Geofencing

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 is a highly contagious coronavirus that has caused traumatic global havoc. By September 14, 2021, there were 224+ million confirmed cases and 4.6+ million fatalities world-wide [1]. Internet of Things (IoT)-based quarantine strategies effectively slow down and prevent COVID-19 transmission [2]. However, the unstan-dardized quarantine strategy may cause negative consequences. Typically, quarantine deactivates normal economic interactions, thus causing huge economic loss [3]. Moreover, the lack of versatility and resiliency also brings safety challenges on some occasions. In this investigation, a performance scoring quarantine index, referred to as QDex, is developed to provide guidance for a new concept of dynamic geofencing quarantine directive. QDex evaluation features adaptive dynamic geofencing (QEDG) for quarantine. In QEDG, QDex is newly defined to evaluate the dynamic geofencing in relation to epidemic control and economic loss. They are represented by two formulated indicators, namely the transmission risk (TR) and the active profit (AP), which are related to the isolator bio status (e.g., body temperature). Based on the evaluation results of TR and AP, QEDG provides a proper geofencing indication for quarantine, which decreases epidemic transmission and restores economic recovery. The requirement-based applicable communication technologies for QEDG are discussed and analyzed, and two typical use cases are included. Finally, the limitations and challenges of QEDG are discussed.