American companies adapt thermal cameras that alert when two workers break 6 feet distance

  • Corporate companies installed fever screening stations that include thermometer guns and heat detention cameras

  • Federal law revised its rules regarding medical examination and job withdrawal of workers

Workers who wear masks standing too close while smoke and lunch breaks are creating a major concern for companies operating in America. Engineers at Landing Al designed a social distancing detector in which camera software rings security alert when two people stand closer than six feet. Kai Yang, director of the company said the intention behind this is to keep them safe and not to punish them.

The Hour reported, corporate American companies are looking forward to installing fever screening stations that will detect the potential coronavirus infected patients to curb the spread of the virus. Screening stations will have standard thermometer guns and social distancing heat-detention cameras. Along with this facial-recognition software is also going to be used by security officials to track and identify the suspected unwell worker.

Temperature scanning systems like metal detectors and security pat-downs are going to be widely used in the coming future according to public-health experts. These will not be installed just at airports but also at schools, workplaces, housing complexes and other public gathering areas.

Federal Law revised its rules regarding medical checks

Lumi by Pampers
Representational image Lumi by Pampers

Previously, companies were abided by the law that hiring decisions should not be subjected to be biased against a person's disability. Federal law had banned the companies to medical examine the workers forcefully including temperature checks. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission revised its rules last month stating employers can take workers' temperature whenever they want and the job can be withdrawn if the newly hired worker is diagnosed with coronavirus.

Fever examination also has its weaknesses. A person's temperature can go up due to lots of reasons. Devices cannot determine whether someone has fallen ill if his temperature is high due to exercise, overeating, stress, excitement, the flu or just hot room. Everyone cannot always get high temperature due to the infection. The infected person can still spread the virus without having a fever and feeling perfectly fine.

"Most people with a fever don't have coronavirus, and slapping the coronavirus-positive label on people just because they have a temperature is going to cause huge problems," said Lewis Maltby, the president of the National Work Rights Institute.

Several companies have been using no-contact thermometer guns that measure a person's forehead temperature and sends back worker home if it crosses 100 degrees. This method is less accurate than a medical-grade thermometer and still led long lines while employees enter the workplaces.

Thermometer gun
Thermometer gun Wikimedia Commons
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