Belgian Port to Test Virus Bracelets Amid Tech Tracing Fears

As the spread of the coronavirus eases and people gradually return to work pondering the impact it might have on their jobs, Europe’s second-biggest port is getting ready to test a device aimed at helping thousands of people employed there to respect social distancing.

At Antwerp in Belgium, where some 900 companies operate in an area the size of a small town, two teams of port workers will be wearing next month a bracelet originally designed to find tugboat crew members that have fallen overboard but now modified to help stop the spread of the disease.

Until a vaccine is found, respecting Europe’s recommended safe distance of 1.5 meters (around five feet), regular hand-washing and the use of masks remain the best methods to defend against any new virus outbreak. So, a mad scramble has begun to develop technologies to prevent its spread.

European countries are designing contact tracing apps for mobile phones to help locate outbreak sources. While they’re a powerful force for good, the various devices are raising concerns about privacy and just how intrusive they might become once they’re in people’s homes or the workplace.

The bracelets are worn like a watch. Coated in black plastic, they vibrate when they move to within three meters (about 10 feet) of each other. The vibration strength, similar to that of a mobile telephone but more obvious when attached to a wrist, increases the closer the bracelets get and warning lights flash.