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.
Will Covid-19 speed up the
use of robots to replace workers?
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.