Coronavirus: Amazon using thermal cameras to sense Covid-19

Amazon has installed thermal cameras in its storerooms in the UK and around the world to screen workers for coronavirus indications.

The cameras can help detect a fever by matching a person's body heat with that of their surroundings.

The technology is faster than the close-range thermometers the company had before relied on.

Cases of Covid-19 have been described among staff at more than 50 of Amazon’s warehouses in the United States.

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And workers have claimed it is almost impossible to exercise social distancing inside the warehouses.

“We applied daily temperature checks in our operations locations as an additional preventative measure to support the health and care of our employees, who continue to provide a serious service in our communities," an Amazon spokesman told BBC News.

"We are now applying the use of thermal cameras for temperature screening to create a more streamlined experience at some of our sites.”

The use of thermal camera technology will also swap thermometers at staff entrances to many of Amazon's Whole Foods stores.

Thermascan managing director Dave Blane said thermal technology had been broadly used ever since airports around the world adopted it during the 2003 severe acute breathing syndrome (Sars) epidemic.

"We've seen a rise in the use of thermal technology across a variety of trades, to the point where there is almost trouble to keep up with demand," he said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has advised temperature screening for Covid-19 could yield false positives and is not effective for those who are asymptomatic.

But Mr Blane said "the technology currently can be incredibly accurate" and should be used more widely.

Global request for online transfers has skyrocketed as many countries have closed shops to comply with coronavirus lockdown.

In March, Amazon sacked a worker in New York City who organized a complaint over working conditions in warehouses.

Meanwhile, the company's six warehouses in France will continue closed until at least Wednesday, following a row about sanitary conditions.