Parents, teachers, and administrators have a daunting task ahead of them when it comes to reopening schools safely. Even though children seem to catch and transmit the Coronavirus at a much lower rate than adults, children can still get sick and/or infect adults — and that is a risk some parents and teachers don’t want to take. Accurate, reliable and automated temperature screening technology like DeCurtis Shield™ can make a huge impact on mitigating risk and putting parents and teachers at ease.
As schools reopen, a multilayered approach will be required. Between social distancing, good hand hygiene and enhanced cleaning protocols, installing health monitoring technology inside schools, such as DeCurtis Shield™, could make an invaluable impact. Shield is a standalone kiosk that can quickly and easily be implemented at secure entranceways or exit points to any educational facility. Using thermal imaging, the kiosk can take a person’s temperature in mere seconds without needing to touch its screen or sanitize between screenings. It also has an optional facial identification feature, so it can integrate with an employee badge or student ID to instantly collect and store data such as who, when, and where they were screened and what their temperature was. This record of data can be exported as needed to governing bodies as required and maintains compliance and transparency for schools.
The CDC has released its Considerations for Schools during the COVID-19 crisis, stating that “if feasible, schools should conduct daily health checks (e.g., temperature screening and/or sympton checking) of staff and students. They then refer to their article, Guidance for Child Care Programs that Remain Open, to provide examples of screening protocols. These examples either rely on parents to screen their children before bringing them to school (which may not be accurate or dependable) or assign a staff member to take the temperature of every person entering the facility manually. Even with a mask, gloves, and a protective barrier, the designated employee could be exposed to hundreds of people every day. Additionally, this manual process suggests that the screener switches out PPE and disinfects the thermometer after each entrant, which can substantially slow entrance into school facilities causing back-ups and lines that can further increase risk. Lastly, the guidance does not mention collecting or recording the data which could be vital if an outbreak were to occur and a school needed proof of their screening.
Conversely, DeCurtis Shield™ can quickly and accurately take everyone’s temperature and record the data – eliminating many of the problems involved with manual screening. For an additional level of protection, Shield kiosks can be placed in multiple locations on a school or college campus and integrated with the DeCurtis’ location and proximity tracking solution. This process would allow administrators to know where someone is when they develop a fever, where they have been and with whom they have interacted. Not only does this make contact tracing much faster and easier but can also indicate where quarantines and enhanced cleaning protocols should be directed.
Utilizing an automated solution like DeCurtis Shield™ in conjunction with other safety measures recommended by experts such as social distancing, limiting class sizes, flex schedules, and sanitization requirements can go a long way toward improving the health and safety of our schools during this challenging time and provide peace of mind for all parties involved.
If you would like assistance in safely reopening your educational facility, please don’t hesitate to contact us or visit our website for more information.