Considerations and a call to action for the use of noncontact forehead infrared handheld thermometers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

www.jogh.org • doi: 10.7189/jogh.11.03023 1 2021 • Vol. 11 • 03023 Early in January 2020, the WHO announced that temperature screening at entry was sufficient to detect the majority of imported COVID-19 cases [1]. As such, several countries began employing thermal screening in airports and public places as a preventative measure against the spread of coronavirus. A February 20th report from the WHO noted that among 55 924 laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 in China, 87.9% had a “fever” (no cutoff point reported), and people with COVID-19 generally developed signs (including fever) and symptoms on average 5-6 days following exposure (range 1-14 days or even longer). However, there is a lack of a universally accepted definition of what exactly constitutes “fever” when a noncontact infrared thermometer is used.