ADB, UNICEF install 61 new thermal scanners for screening of passengers at ports and airports
Thermal scanners at ports and airports
Thermal scanners placed at ports and airports can identify passengers with elevated external body temperature and detect those 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 after India invoked the Disaster Management Act to contain COVID-19 in the country, most restrictions had been lifted, and international flight services had 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 to prevent the 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, pending completion of civil works to prepare the site.
“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.”
ADB entered into an agreement with the Government of India in January 2021 to provide a generous US$3 million contribution to support the government’s containment efforts, including active case identification at ports of entry.
ADB further partnered with UNICEF to manage the procurement and installation of the scanners and to train 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, former 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 builds on 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 with thermal scanners, India continues to conduct two per cent random sampling for COVID-19 testing among passengers arriving from various countries.
