Experts say that there is no data to show that temperature checks have helped in preventing the transmission of the virus. Thus, it’s of no value and should be stopped.
The idea of checking the body temperature for filtering out suspecting cases dates back to the 2000s SARS epidemic episode. Measuring temperature was a reliable indicator at that time because 83 per cent infected with SARS infection had a fever.
But temperature checks are almost of no use during this time. The SARS-CoV2 (coronavirus) infection had led to fever in less than half the population that got infected, says a study. And people suffering from the infection are often contagious even before they start showing any symptoms.
In fact, most vulnerable people (over 65 years of age) and the asymptomatic ones do not experience fever in most cases.
