The pilot scheme will begin at entry points to Abu Dhabi, on Yas Island and in the Musaffah area…

The Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee has just announced it will be piloting a new project which will deploy advanced scanners to screen large groups for Covid-19 infection.

Details on how these future-tech scanners operate, and what data they evaluate has yet to be released, but the Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee, via Abu Dhabi media office, has said that ‘the technology screens (without recording) for potential Covid-19 infection and provides immediate results’.

In this pilot scheme, scanners will be set up at entry points to Abu Dhabi, on Yas Island and in the Musaffah area.

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The technology is particularly useful for its ability to process mass screenings, meaning it can be deployed efficiently at events, as well as entry and exit terminals.

Abu Dhabi Media Office showed clips of the phone-based tech on the stories of their Instagram channel. Again there is no information on how this scanner works, or what specific metrics it is evaluating to determine infection (or lack of) — but presumably, it must be something other than temperature (or any other aspect unidentifiable by a software-enhanced iPhone).

Those identified as potentially infected with the Covid-19 virus, will of course not be permitted to enter, and will be asked to complete a free PCR test within 24 hours.

This trial will run in conjunction with existing safety procedures which include social distancing, deep clean requirements, the continued use of PPE in public places, negative Covid tests to enter the emirate by road, and the new Green Pass (via the ALHSON app) which came into operation yesterday.

Images: Getty