ADB, UNICEF install 61 new thermal scanners for screening of passengers at ports and airports

Thermal scanners placed in ports and airports by identifying passengers with high external body temperature can detect passengers with possible COVID-19 infection. As part of the national strategy to prevent the transmission of new COVID-19 cases and to enhance the identification of active cases, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in partnership with UNICEF has supported the Government of India in the installation of thermal scanners for mass screening of passengers at major points of entry in 2021, in close coordination with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

In March 2022, two years since India invoked the Disaster Management Act for the containment of COVID-19 in the country, most restrictions have been lifted and international flight services have been resumed. However, the COVID-19 virus has shown the capacity to mutate rapidly, and news of new variants and sub-variants continues to emerge. These call for sustained preventive and control measures and thermal screening at entry points is one of them.

Compared to handheld thermal guns, automated thermal scanners save time and prevent crowding – another critical intervention for the prevention of spread of COVID-19.

With support from ADB, UNICEF has installed 61 thermal scanners at 26 international airports and 9 seaports across India. One more scanner will be installed at Lucknow international airport, which is pending the undertaking of civil works to prepare the site for the installation.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, India has adopted a comprehensive response, based on testing, suppressing chains of transmission, clinical care and treatment, and COVID-19 safe behaviours. This includes exit screening and/or restrictions on persons from affected 'areas'. These thermal scanners are a critical element of these efforts and we are proud to be associated with this project,” said Takeo Konishi, Country Director, ADB.

ADB had entered into an agreement with the Government of India in January 2021 to provide a generous contribution of US$ 3 million to support the government’s containment efforts, which included active case identification at ports of entries. ADB further partnered with UNICEF to manage the procurement and installation of the scanners, and training of personnel. A total of 125 key staff across the 35 POEs were trained to operate the thermal scanners.

ADB’s contribution synergizes with UNICEF’s key areas of response to COVID-19 in India, including its support for the country's vaccination drive, risk communication and community engagement, case management, health and nutrition, addressing secondary impacts on education, child protection and early childhood education, and social protection.

Yasumasa Kimura, Representative a.i., UNICEF India, said, “The installation of the thermal scanners supported the government’s containment measures against COVID-19, by screening high-risk contacts at ports of entry and helped curb the spread of the coronavirus.”

The current collaboration has built upon a previous partnership between ADB and UNICEF initiated in 2020, when the installation of 10 mass thermal scanners at eight international airports was completed. Besides screening for fever through thermal scanners, India continues to do two per cent randomly sampled testing for COVID-19 in passengers who arrive from various countries.