Survey: 37% of UK consumers say temperature checks are critical to COVID-19 safety

37 per cent of UK consumers have said that since the outbreak of COVID-19, they would be more likely to visit pubs, restaurants and hotels which have temperature checking in place for customer safety.

This is according to a survey conducted by independent polling company Censuswide, and commissioned by Thermavis, the Multi-Person Thermal Scanner, which accurately reads the skin temperature of up to six people at once.

The findings, which surveyed 2,000 UK consumers found that over a third (37 per cent) have witnessed restaurant/hospitality staff not wearing a mask or wearing it properly when serving and 38 per cent have experienced staff using a keypad for a credit/debit card machine without cleaning/disinfecting the pad since the outbreak of COVID-19.

In addition, the research shows that half of respondents (50 per cent) have witnessed credit card and cash being physically handled between staff and customers and 30 per cent have experienced printed menus being passed around without disinfectant, with multiple staff and customers touching them since the outbreak of COVID-19. This suggests that the hospitality industry has had different policies and protocols when keeping customers safe during the pandemic.

Finally, over a third of UK consumers have experienced restaurant staff not keeping to social distancing guidelines and getting closer than 1 metre to people since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Thermavis is backed by Transputec, the global managed IT services provider and they created the new product to solve the problem of costly, large and intrusive thermal scanners, instead developing an easy to use, independent and flexible monitoring solution for businesses, allowing them to quickly improve safety standards at a low cost.

Thermavis comes with a tablet computer but can also be linked to any Windows machine - allowing multiple monitoring points, remote access, cloud connectivity, and shareable screens.

The camera takes a primary reading from the tear duct, the area of the face which gives the most accurate reading and is least likely to be impacted by body heat anomalies or obscured by face masks. It takes a secondary reading from the forehead to accommodate glasses wearers.

More and more restaurants are using handheld scanners, but this is unsustainable due to the close human to human contact they require.

Hospitality venues must take the importance of on-the-door temperature checks seriously to ensure everyone entering the building is Covid-safe. Places will have to manage reduced reservations due to limited covers in restaurants, and bars will have to adopt a style of table service again limiting occupancy on the door. The Covid-19 crisis has caused huge challenges for the health and wellbeing of workers who play a vital role in the running of the hospitality, restaurant and pub industry that help to keep the economy afloat. The pandemic has already had a devastating impact on UK business but fortunately, cutting edge technology can facilitate a mass shift to safe practices for employees and customers. The use of handheld scanners, which are being widely used now, due to the cheap cost is unsustainable because of the close human contact needed. The cost of having staff taking temperatures at entry is soon outweighed by using a Thermavis device.”

Mark Nightingale, COO, Thermavis

We can expect the restaurant industry to increase the use of temperature checking technology, perhaps on a permanent basis. Every business must continue to bolster digital initiatives and prioritize consumer safety if they wish to remain buoyant. The portable nature and small size of the Thermavis camera, means the scanning process is non-intrusive and discreet. The operator can easily move, reposition or relocate the camera, with ease, having the potential to help numerous sectors operate successfully. This tech provides the perfect opportunity for creating Covid-secure environments across all industries.”

Sonny Sehgal, CEO, Transputec