Residents in the Indian state of Karnataka who have been quarantined at home, must download a special mobile app, and send a selfie of themselves to the government every hour.

If they do not comply, they might be shifted to government-created mass quarantine facilities instead.

Exceptions only for sleeping hours

According to a press release seen by the Bangalore Mirror, an English language daily in Bengaluru, capital of Karnataka, this measure was implemented as the selfie contains GPS coordinates that can confirm the location of the sender.

The only exception for this hourly photo-taking is from 10pm to 7am, to allow residents to sleep.

The authorities will also send teams to conduct random checks at houses to make sure quarantine orders are being obeyed.

The press release was signed by K Sudhakar, Minister of Medical Education for the state government of Karnataka.

According to India Today, as of Monday, Mar. 30, Karnataka has 88 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

Out of those 88, three have died after contracting the virus.

Nationwide lockdown

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier declared a 21-day lockdown on Mar. 24 to help fight the spread of the virus.

He also sought "forgiveness" for the lockdown, which was announced with a notice of a few hours, noting that it impacted the lives of India's poor people.

As of Mar. 30, India has 1,071 confirmed cases, with 29 deaths, and 100 people have recovered and been discharged.

Top image from Dr.K Sudhakar's Facebook page.