New thermal scanners effectively screening passengers at airports

Islamabad:The government’s new state-of-the-art thermal scanners, being the major defence against coronavirus, installed at four major airports of the country were effectively functioning to detect passengers with signs of the disease.

According to an official of the Ministry of National Health Services, these thermal scanners had been installed at airports of Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar as precautions aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus in the country from incoming passengers.

He said these screening devices were functional in the arrivals walkway of the airports. The decision of installing these devices was made after the government announced that it would be increasing health oversight in the airports keeping in view the reporting of coronavirus cases in neighbouring and other countries.

The scanners measure a person’s body temperature, and any individuals found suffering from fever was then approached by health authorities and a mouth swab test was administered on the person, which can determine whether the person was suffering from coronavirus or not.

He said in this way the screening process of suspected coronavirus patients had become more effective and useful. He said this latest system would help the health staff to easily detect the coronavirus patients at entry points of airports.

The official said new signboards and posters had been placed at airports informing passengers about being potentially tested. Earlier, there were complaints on performance of thermal devices and its limited functions.

He said the government would take all actions keeping the protection of people’s health supreme and guided by the science of public health. “We are working round the clock and maintaining high level of vigilance to counter the public health challenge posed by Novel Coronavirus pandemic.”

He said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza personally visited the Islamabad International Airport and inspected the special health desk established for screening of passengers to prevent outbreak of coronavirus.

He added that Dr Mirza was regularly reviewing preparations to make passenger screening foolproof at airports while a full-scale mock exercise was also being conducted by para medical staff at airports.

The official said the federal and provincial governments were committed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. He said a strict vigilance was being maintained at the airports with screening of incoming travelers and their follow up by dedicated public health teams and airport health authorities.

He added that effective screening mechanism had been adopted at all Points of Entry (POE) to have check on coronavirus patients. He said in line with WHO guidelines and in accordance with international best practices, both isolation facilities at designated hospitals and quarantine arrangements were essential requirements to meet any eventuality.