Here is a potential suspect: Ankle bracelets to track incoming passengers who are obligated to quarantine (!).
“Times of Israel” (if to be believed) quotes a Channel 12 report on this, noting this “has been considered in places like China, Australia and several states in the US“. (Hat tip: Chananya Weissman)
Cynics suspect these items are mere tests of the public’s reaction. If the idea encounters opposition, they can always deny it was serious. (Netanyahu is forever doing this, by the way.)
What is a trial balloon?
Wikipedia introduces the concept:
A trial balloon, or kite-flying (used in the UK and elsewhere), is information sent out to the media in order to observe the reaction of an audience. It can be used by companies sending out press releases to judge reaction by customers, or it can be used by politicians who deliberately leak information on a policy change under consideration.
In politics, trial balloons often take the form of an intentional news “leak” to assess public opinion. An example was when the New York Times reported in mid-June 2012 that Governor Andrew Cuomo and his staff were deliberating on a plan to restrict hydrofracking to five counties in the Southern Tier of New York where the Marcellus shale is deepest and drilling is least likely to pollute well water supplies in those aquifers. Because the proposed change in New York energy law was highly controversial, the Albany Times Union the next day filed a front-page, above the fold story questioning the plan’s leak as a “trial balloon” in the headline, which had quickly garnered both criticism and support.
But there is another option. Perhaps the “leak” is not meant in earnest, but as a way to signal to the masses how severe matters stand in the estimation of the “experts”. In other words, the regime hints “See how bad things are, that we are forced to consider such drastic measures!”
Or it could just be Security Theater.