Monitoring of passengers with thermal cameras tested at port’s A-terminal

Monitoring of passengers’ body temperature with thermal cameras was tested at the A-terminal of Tallinn’s passenger port. Photo: Eero Vabamägi

Monitoring of passengers’ body temperature with thermal cameras was tested at the A-terminal of Tallinn’s passenger port on Wednesday, and in the next couple of days two cameras will be deployed also at the airport, officials said. 

Over the next couple of days, a thermal camera is to be installed also at the port’s D-terminal and at Tallinn Airport, the Ministry of Social Affairs said.

If the thermal camera shows a person to be having a body temperature higher than 38 degrees Celsius, the operator of the camera will direct the person on a voluntary basis to a separated area nearby for health counseling, Ragnar Vaiknemets, adviser at the ministry's department for health system development, said.

„Counseling will see the person’s health assessed and recommendations for monitoring their health and contacting a healthcare professional if necessary. If the person’s condition is visibly poor, an ambulance will be called,” the official said.

Siiri Lõhmus, head of the safety department at state-owned Port of Tallinn, said that no passengers with a fever arrived at the port during the period when the thermal cameras were tested on Wednesday.

Tallinn Airport board member Einari Bambus said that thermal cameras will become operational also at the airport in the coming few days.

„Two of the thermal cameras acquired in cooperation with Port of Tallinn will be installed in the luggage claim area of the airport and they will be installed permanently, which creates the possibility to employ them any time also in the future,” Bambus said. 

Bambus added that starting Thursday last week, the Health Board’s information leaflets about the COVID-19 virus have been available at the airport and additional information concerning COVID-19 has been displayed in the luggage claim area.

„It is possible for passengers to get face masks if they wish and to disinfect their hands. Additional disinfecting equipment has been installed also in the public area and the restricted area of the terminal,” he added.

The staff working with the thermal cameras are officials of the Health Board or volunteers of the Estonian Red Cross.

„However, we’re not only searching for potential carriers of the coronavirus, but the aim is to raise people's awareness more broadly about the possibilities for preserving their own health and the health of others during the virus season,” Vaiknemets added.