After years of running a CCTV company in Cardiff, we have been asked to set up security cameras for many different reasons but now it could be used to fight COVID-19.

As the world continues to grapple with COVID-19, governments, businesses and organisations are all looking for technological solutions to help in the fight against the virus.

One area that’s leading the way towards progress is surveillance tech, with countries all across the globe utilising closed-circuit television to help monitor the spread and infection of the coronavirus.

We only need to look towards countries like South Korea and Singapore to see how adopting CCTV measures into COVID-19 response can be very beneficial in curbing out-of-control peaks in infection.

South Korea, drawing the eyes of many governments due to its ability to ‘flatten the curve’ much more effectively than countries with economies larger than its own, has managed to curtail COVID spread directly because of stringent surveillance measures—particularly CCTV. The government used a holistic approach, combining transaction records, mobile phone data and surveillance footage to create an accessible online map of virus spread.

Likewise, detectives in Singapore had access to CCTV footage so that they could quickly locate any people who had come into contact with a carrier of coronavirus. Combined with telephone communications and boots on the ground, the Singaporean government was able to trace 6,000 people even before March.

Responding to the development of COVID-19 within China, the country began to utilise its robust CCTV system at the start of the year as cases began to rise significantly. The Chinese government also incorporated sophisticated facial recognition software with its closed-circuit systems so that it could restrict and monitor the movement of those who had caught the disease from spreading it further.

Mask On or Mask Off?

Most countries are enforcing rules and guidelines in respect to wearing masks and face coverings in public spaces. The evidence is certainly clear that masks reduce the spread of COVID, and asking the public to remove masks so that CCTV may better track potential spread is a self-defeating action. Of course, there are numbers of people who will have their faces exposed due to exemption as well,  so how can CCTV work effectively if most people in public are wearing masks? Well, that question leads us smoothly into the next section…

Smart CCTV 

As mentioned above, the issue with CCTV and COVID-19 is that many people are required to wear masks in public spaces. The key adaptation that surveillance must make in order to combat COVID then is that it needs to be tailored to record signs of spread and infection. 

Standard and run-of-the-mill security installations are not necessarily equipped to tackle the study of widespread infectious disease. Therefore, businesses and other groups need tools and equipment designed with coronavirus in mind.

Since the rise of cases in the early stages of 2020, newly developed ‘Smart Coronavirus CCTV’ cameras are being used to spot and record any coronavirus activity. These specialised cameras have the capability of tracking multiple people simultaneously, as well as the ability to record body temperature. 

Body temperature is an easily identifiable characteristic of every person, and fortunately, a high temperature is seen as one of the most apparent symptoms of developing COVID-19. Therefore, creating stations where people’s temperature can be viewed quickly and at a distance is a great benefit to spaces with heavy traffic of people.

Further to this, Smart Coronavirus CCTV systems can be easily incorporated into existing security measures, including entrances to buildings and public areas. This means that personnel supplied with training and equipment are much more able to rigorously monitor people coming and going.

Once set up, security can detect people showing signs of infection and can take appropriate action to guarantee their safety, as well as the safety of others in the building. This is shown via body temperature, which can be displayed in monitoring stations on computer screens. 

The Future of CCTV

In the push for a return to normality in the world of entertainment, education and commerce, there will be inevitable questions in regard to personal safety.

Businesses not only risk the health of their employees but also risk massive potential losses in profit due to swathes of their workforce becoming ill simultaneously—perhaps only after being brought to work by a single person.

Of course, because of this, businesses everywhere are investing heavily in robust CCTV systems to fight against COVID. Seen as the best mode of defense from the accidental spread, large institutions such as law firms, offices and banks are going to need to rely heavily on rigorous and competent Smart Coronavirus CCTV.