Worksite Temperature Screening for COVID-19.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether temperature screening is useful in detecting and reducing workplace transmission of SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: A survey was conducted to determine whether temperature screening successfully identified workers with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among a convenience sample of medical directors of multinational corporations in a wide range of industries. RESULTS: More than 15 million screenings were performed by 14 companies. Fewer than 700 episodes of fever were identified. Of these, only about 53 cases of COVID-19 were detected. By contrast about 2000 workers with diagnosed COVID-19 were in the workplace and not detected by screening. CONCLUSIONS: One case of COVID-19 was identified by screening for approximately every 40 cases that were missed. Worksite temperature screening was ineffective for detecting workers with COVID-19 and is not recommended.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Stave, GM; Smith, SE; Hymel, PA; Heron, RJL

Published Date

  • August 1, 2021

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 63 / 8

Start / End Page

  • 638 - 641

PubMed ID

  • 33908386

Pubmed Central ID

  • PMC8327760

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1536-5948

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002245

Language

  • eng

Conference Location

  • United States