Protecting South Africa’s future through smart screening
The COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted the undeniable need to prioritise and ensure the safety and health of every South African citizen, regardless of age. While most children don’t develop symptoms when infected with the virus, or have a very mild form of COVID-19, research has shown that infectious children can still spread the virus to other children and adults, making school settings a potential spreader through broader communities.
As such, the South African government has made it mandatory for every person (parent, teacher, staff member, student, or visitor) that enters a school, early childhood development premises, or educational institution to be screened, part of which is having their temperature checked using a digital thermometer scanner.
However, many educational institutions are still using manual, paper-based, and labour-intensive procedures to track and record this information – often wasting valuable time and resources. To remedy this, Standard Bank has partnered with Global tech innovator and IoT pioneer Fastcomm to introduce and accelerate a suite of innovative IoT solutions known as FeverSafe. Offering four contactless thermal screening and reporting solutions, FeverSafe enables the education sector to monitor and manage all check-ins and temperature measurements seamlessly. In turn, this means that infected individuals can be identified quickly, empowering institutions to better manage the spread of the virus and keep students, staff members, and their families healthy and safe.
The FeverSafe solutions include infrared, digital, Bluetooth thermometers as well as QR code scanners that can be manned or unmanned depending on the solution. Solutions also differ in terms of the number of people that can be scanned at any given time, ranging from 1 to 20 people, depending on the solution used. FeverSafe’s offerings are simple to implement and use, non-invasive, and have response times measured in milliseconds – they can also be used across different types of educational organisations, no matter the size of the institution.
“We’re delighted to be able to partner with Fastcomm, bringing its transformative technology to schools and learning institutions across the country.
Since education is a critical part of society and young people’s lives, we want to keep our schools open and prevent widespread school closures. These closures have a negative physical, mental, and educational impact on our youth as well as far-reaching economic and social effects. As such, we encourage those in the education sector to take the necessary precautions to contain the spread of the virus and be better prepared for the 2022 school year. FeverSafe’s innovations give education leaders the power to protect their students, employees, and visitors more effectively and intelligently,” commented Ben Pretorius, Head Education sector at Standard Bank.
To learn more about the FeverSafe offering, visit https://fastcomm.com/feversafe