Temperature Screening
In order to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 of employees and customers, it is important for all employers to take action, making sure to offer as many preventive measures as possible.
Although hand washing and surface disinfection are two of the most recommended preventive measures, they don't give us any indication of the condition of those who enter our workplace.
As you should probably know, one of the most common symptoms of COVID-19 is Fever.
Therefore, we cannot ignore the importance of body temperature control as part of your business response plan.
Body temperature checks will become a much more common thing in workplaces. As a matter of fact, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) published a guide mentioning recommended prevention measures for workplaces, which includes body temperature control.
It depends on the state. Even if it’s not, it is still strongly recommended to do so. But yes, some states are currently requiring employers to regularly measure employees’ body temperature.
To mention a few examples, the state of Indiana requires all employers to develop a COVID-19 response plan, which should include regular symptoms and temperature checks. The state of Colorado is requiring that both critical and non-critical businesses run daily symptom checks (including body temperature measurements) and if they have over 50 employees at the same location, they must implement symptom and temperature screening stations or kiosks.
Some states require that only certain industries must perform temperature controls on their employees. Construction contractors in Washington, for example, are required to check their employees for fever and symptoms before the start of their shift. Any employee with a body temperature above 100.4° should be sent home immediately.
Even if your state may not have mandatory body temperature monitoring for employees yet, we suggest constantly checking the regulations, as this may change over the course of the days.
Yes, as long as the checks are carried out in a safe and non-discriminatory manner, temperature screenings are a permissible control mechanism to apply during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, to ensure that this practice is not discriminatory, individuals should not be targeted (unless it involves testing a particular sector of the business/company where social distancing cannot be accomplished, such as production lines or warehouses)
If the employer chooses to check all employees entering the facility, he must do the same for all persons entering (visitors or customers) to reduce the risk of transmission.
We can all agree that the safest way to carry out temperature control should not involve contact between people.
That's why the safest option is definitely the one that includes mechanisms that can be controlled remotely, such as temperature detection kiosks.
Temperature screening kiosks are a non-invasive and contactless solution to fever screening for workplaces, schools, churches, hair salons, restaurants, museums and more.
Not only do they detect body temperature, but they can also detect the presence of masks.
It is also possible to connect them to the automatic door system, being useful for access control (for example, preventing the entry of those who have a high body temperature or are not wearing a mask)
With the new normality that awaits us, and the controlled return to work, school and life as we know it despite the pandemic, this kind of devices will become part of our daily lives.
That is why we should not be surprised to see many more of these devices in places we visit regularly, as they are a safe and effective temperature screening solution for restaurants, houses of worship, beauty salons and more.