I was horrified @SydneyAirport international arrivals yesterday. Nurse doing temperature screening was touching everybody’s face with her fingers as she stabilised her ear thermometer on them. She didn’t change gloves after touching people. She was touching face after face. 1/
I asked to speak to the peron in charge immediately. They were potentially spreading COVID19 across thousands of people arriving at the airport. I spoke with a junior doctor who said they were overwhelmed, there was limited training for new screening staff, and they were 2/
Running out of PPE. There was no real clinical leadership at all. I said they needed to urgently ensure the temperature screeners were not touching people’s faces. 3/
Screening is different from diagnostic testing. Screening should be done with infrared (no touch) technology, NOT tympanic thermometers. There are infrared cameras as well as individual infrared forehead thermometers. @NSWHealth @GladysB this is absolutely urgent. #typhoidmary 4/
What I saw was someone potentially killing a large number of people. 5/
@GladysB @DanielAndrewsMP Children’s science museums like @scienceworks_mv @ScitechWA often have exhibits set up using infrared cameras for detecting fever in populations. Individual use infrared thermometers are commonly available from medical suppliers and pharmacies.
@ScitechWA could you send through a photo of your infrared population temperature screening exhibit please?
