Coronavirus: thermometer guns ‘notoriously’ unreliable, experts say
- A new coronavirus spreading across the globe has led to temperature screenings at airports, Chinese cities, and businesses
- Demand for thermometer guns has spiked since the coronavirus outbreak began, leaving some manufacturers struggling to keep up
As officials struggle to contain a new coronavirus spreading across the globe, travellers worldwide are undergoing unreliable temperature screenings, experts say.
The new coronavirus, first discovered in Wuhan, China in December, has infected nearly 69,000 people and killed at least 1,669, mostly within China.
Airports, Chinese cities, and even Apple stores have instituted temperature checks to identify potential patients and prevent the virus’s spread. To do this, many governments and businesses rely on thermometer guns – devices that use infrared sensors to measure a person’s surface temperature without touching their skin.
“These devices are notoriously not accurate and reliable,” Dr James Lawler, a medical expert at the University of Nebraska’s Global Centre for Health Security, told The New York Times. “Some of it is quite frankly for show.”
That means that many coronavirus cases could go undetected through these temperature screenings.
To account for this possibility, the US has instituted a mandatory quarantine of up to two weeks for anyone who’s been to China’s Hubei province within the prior 14 days. But China now relies on daily temperature checks as it struggles to contain the virus.
Why thermometer guns are often unreliable
Most people wielding thermometer guns hold them too far from or too close to the subject, yielding temperature measurements that are either too hot or too cold, according to experts who spoke with The New York Times.