Thermal imaging cameras to be rolled out 'everywhere' in post-COVID Australia

Smart technology is being rolled out to routinely check Australians' temperatures as we start to return to normal life and interact in busy locations.

Thermal imaging cameras, which can be used to automatically scan multiple individual body temperatures at the same time, are already being deployed in our hospitals.

But numerous other industries are also considering the technology, including nursing homes, shopping centres, offices, hotels and airports.

READ MORE: 'No medical reason' why state borders are closed: Deputy CMO

Experts say it's an efficient, accurate and contactless way to monitor groups of people, with an alarm sounding when a personal temperature is elevated so a person who could be carrying the virus is detected.

"I think we'll see them everywhere pretty much," Gary Hickey of technology company Hikvision, which supplies thermal cameras, said.

"Aged care, independent living, schools, hospitals, pubs, clubs."

Safety organisation Care Protect has been demonstrating the technology to major Australian aged care providers, as elderly people are especially vulnerable to coronavirus.

Vulnerable Persons Advocate Stewart Johnston says it's critical elderly people get to see friends and family - but also that they stay safe in their home.

St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney is believed to be the first hospital to have installed thermal cameras at its entrances, stopping people whose temperature is elevated above the standard 37.5C.

"If they're simply a visitor we will turn them around and ask them to go and see their GP," Todd McEwan from St Vincent's Hospital said.

9News understands supermarkets have also been looking at using thermal cameras at entrances to large stores.

The system is not completely fail-safe as some people carrying the virus don't get a fever but can still be contagious, but proponents say it could be a useful real-world tool.

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