There's No Point to Temperature Checks for Cruising - They are Useless

[ontheweb]

I remember once going to a Red Cross Blood drive and they took my temperature and it was a drop high. They had me rest a bit as I had walked there and gave me some orange juice. They took my temperature again, and I was cleared to donate blood. I just don't see how useful these checks can be.

[ldubs]

My understanding is a reading slightly above normal wouldn't necessarily be a concern.  Per CDC a temp of 100.4 deg's & higher is considered a fever in adults.  CDC says a fever is likely present when a person feels hot to the touch.  

 

IDK, Maybe the cruise lounge of the future will have a bunch of folks sitting around with thermometers sticking out of their mouths.   

[ilikeanswers]

Had a health official in my country declare temperature checks as pointless. In many ways it is moot a point. Much like a lot of the security at airports being useful or effective isn't always the criteria it is just about being seen to do something. Bio security theatre will probably become our new pet hate in the future😜. 

Edited June 6, 2020 by ilikeanswers

[ldubs]

16 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

Had a health official in my country declare temperature checks as pointless. In many ways it is moot a point. Much like a lot of the security at airports being useful or effective isn't always the criteria it is just about being seen to do something. Bio security theatre will probably become our new pet hate in the future😜. 

 

Did the health official consider the temp checks to be pointless because they were inaccurate?  

[SelectSys]

21 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

Had a health official in my country declare temperature checks as pointless. In many ways it is moot a point. Much like a lot of the security at airports being useful or effective isn't always the criteria it is just about being seen to do something. Bio security theatre will probably become our new pet hate in the future😜. 

 

That was my thought as well!  

[ilikeanswers]

10 hours ago, ldubs said:

Did the health official consider the temp checks to be pointless because they were inaccurate?  

 

In a way yes. The thermometer guns only measure skin temperature not core body temperature which can have a discrepancy of 10°C up or down. Also most people not being medical professionals are using them wrong so it fudges the results. The biggest problem he said that temperature checks are being used in isolation so not combined with testing or even a simple symptom check probably because it is not being done by medical professionals. This article is a nice examination on temperature checks at airports. It touches on a lot of things our health official was worried about :

 

Why airport screening won’t stop the spread of coronavirus

 

[ldubs]

7 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

In a way yes. The thermometer guns only measure skin temperature not core body temperature which can have a discrepancy of 10°C up or down. Also most people not being medical professionals are using them wrong so it fudges the results. The biggest problem he said that temperature checks are being used in isolation so not combined with testing or even a simple symptom check probably because it is not being done by medical professionals. This article is a nice examination on temperature checks at airports. It touches on a lot of things our health official was worried about :

 

Why airport screening won’t stop the spread of coronavirus

 

 

Thanks Likeanswers.  It is kind of ironic that a province in China received its first cases from people traveling in from Italy.   

[lenquixote66]

On 5/22/2020 at 1:06 AM, spookwife said:

I was just at my doctors office.  Got temp checked coming into the building. 96.8. The gun thingy

 

10 minutes later, 99.6 with a traditional thermometer Under the tongue.  
 

 

I heard an interview this morning on the radio with an MD .He stated that a person could have a normal temperature and still have Covid.

[bigrednole]

I agree. On my packing list, I have cool towels on it. Soak them in cold water, put them on your head or under your hat, the temperature check thing will never work. The other test I did was before and after a small workout. I was 98.x (can't remember). After 20 minutes it read 100.x. Did the same thing with a cool towel on my head and it was 97.x. 

[d9704011]

4 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

I agree. On my packing list, I have cool towels on it. Soak them in cold water, put them on your head or under your hat, the temperature check thing will never work. The other test I did was before and after a small workout. I was 98.x (can't remember). After 20 minutes it read 100.x. Did the same thing with a cool towel on my head and it was 97.x. 

Does your packing list also include a supply of cool water you can carry around with you to soak those towels prior to a temperature check?

[ontheweb]

30 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

I agree. On my packing list, I have cool towels on it. Soak them in cold water, put them on your head or under your hat, the temperature check thing will never work. The other test I did was before and after a small workout. I was 98.x (can't remember). After 20 minutes it read 100.x. Did the same thing with a cool towel on my head and it was 97.x. 

Yes, temperature changes. I once went to a Red Cross blood drive, and my temperature was a drop over their limit as I had walked there on a warm day. They sat me down, and gave me some cold juice. Soon I was able to pass the temperature test and give my blood donation.

[bigrednole]

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

Does your packing list also include a supply of cool water you can carry around with you to soak those towels prior to a temperature check?

I will have ice water with me pretty much where ever I go. So, it is not going to be an issue for me.

[donaldsc]

3 hours ago, bigrednole said:

I will have ice water with me pretty much where ever I go. So, it is not going to be an issue for me.

 

You can buy disposable chemical cold packs.

 

DON

[ed01106]

On 6/17/2020 at 7:24 AM, bigrednole said:

I agree. On my packing list, I have cool towels on it. Soak them in cold water, put them on your head or under your hat, the temperature check thing will never work. The other test I did was before and after a small workout. I was 98.x (can't remember). After 20 minutes it read 100.x. Did the same thing with a cool towel on my head and it was 97.x. 

The temperature checks are intended to screen out people who inadvertently might spread the disease.  They won't work against bioterrorists who are purposefully trying to spread the virus.  Most passengers unlike yourself are not actively trying to kill their fellow passengers.   

[bigrednole]

9 minutes ago, ed01106 said:

The temperature checks are intended to screen out people who inadvertently might spread the disease.  They won't work against bioterrorists who are purposefully trying to spread the virus.  Most passengers unlike yourself are not actively trying to kill their fellow passengers.   

I am not either. However, I would not be in a position to allow a cruiseline to drop me off in a port or lock me up somewhere because my temperature increases from 98.6 to 100.4 because I walked up 3 flights of stairs and to the back of the ship. So, if you don't like it, don't cruise.

[ed01106]

4 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

I am not either. However, I would not be in a position to allow a cruiseline to drop me off in a port or lock me up somewhere because my temperature increases from 98.6 to 100.4 because I walked up 3 flights of stairs and to the back of the ship. So, if you don't like it, don't cruise.

If you are are attempting to circumvent the protocols put in place to protect other you are the problem.  Actions such as propose should be treated as felonies.  Your comment that I shouldn't cruise if I disapprove of fraudulent health checks, is the equivalent as saying drunk driving should be accepted and those who don't want to share the road with drunks shouldn't drive.

[ilikeanswers]

15 minutes ago, ed01106 said:

If you are are attempting to circumvent the protocols put in place to protect other you are the problem.  Actions such as propose should be treated as felonies.

 

People were already taking antipyretic drugs when temperature screenings first started and while some got caught because they bragged about it online you have to wonder how many got away with it😳. Even if they are later retested with a fever they could simply claim they did not have a fever on the first test. There is no way to prove otherwise.

[chipmaster]

32 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

I am not either. However, I would not be in a position to allow a cruiseline to drop me off in a port or lock me up somewhere because my temperature increases from 98.6 to 100.4 because I walked up 3 flights of stairs and to the back of the ship. So, if you don't like it, don't cruise.

 

So are you a mask wearer ?

 

You seem self focused on your vacation and anything that infringes on your personal enjoyment.    What do you think the collective cruisers responsibility to each other should be?

   

[ed01106]

1 hour ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

People were already taking antipyretic drugs when temperature screenings first started and while some got caught because they bragged about it online you have to wonder how many got away with it😳. Even if they are later retested with a fever they could simply claim they did not have a fever on the first test. There is no way to prove otherwise.

Your point?  

 

There are people so selfish they will try to circumvent basic decency.  These people need to be rooted out not encouraged.  

[bigrednole]

2 hours ago, chipmaster said:

 

So are you a mask wearer ?

 

You seem self focused on your vacation and anything that infringes on your personal enjoyment.    What do you think the collective cruisers responsibility to each other should be?

   

I will wear a mask if it is required. This has nothing to do with self focusing. Do a test yourself and see how quickly your body temperature can get simply by mild exercise. A temperature check will do NOTHING to stop Covid 19. Most people have absolutely no symptoms from it. 

[navybankerteacher]

On 6/7/2020 at 11:40 PM, ilikeanswers said:

 

In a way yes. The thermometer guns only measure skin temperature not core body temperature which can have a discrepancy of 10°C up or down. Also most people not being medical professionals are using them wrong so it fudges the results. The biggest problem he said that temperature checks are being used in isolation so not combined with testing or even a simple symptom check probably because it is not being done by medical professionals. This article is a nice examination on temperature checks at airports. It touches on a lot of things our health official was worried about :

 

Why airport screening won’t stop the spread of coronavirus

 

10 degrees C up or down - sounds awfully wide.  Are you sure you read it right?

[TheOldBear]

2 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

I will wear a mask if it is required. This has nothing to do with self focusing. Do a test yourself and see how quickly your body temperature can get simply by mild exercise. A temperature check will do NOTHING to stop Covid 19. Most people have absolutely no symptoms from it. 

I would like to see some data about the COVID 19 'asymptomatic carrier' hypothesis.

 

Early in the pandemic [March] there was an anecdote about asymptomatic spread in Germany referenced in a few papers [that were in turn later used to establish policies] with one carrier infecting work colleagues before returning to Wuhan.

It turns out that they were not asymptomatic - and were self medicating with over the counter cold medication, but still occasionally coughing. 

[bigrednole]

1 minute ago, TheOldBear said:

I would like to see some data about the COVID 19 'asymptomatic carrier' hypothesis.

The people I know that have had it had no fever, no coughing, no sneezing. I take their REALITY over anything the government or hospitals are saying. Yes it is a small sample size but it is a direct and factual.

[TheOldBear]

8 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

The people I know that have had it had no fever, no coughing, no sneezing. I take their REALITY over anything the government or hospitals are saying. Yes it is a small sample size but it is a direct and factual.

Right asymptomatic ; no fever, coughing, sneezing - what risks to they present of infecting other folks in casual situations? 

 

If there is coughing or sneezing involved, it is symptomatic transmission [the sort of stuff that masks may prevent by trapping the liquid glop in the cough or sneeze]. 

 

Note that some activities [e.g. singing in a chorus or choir] has been implicated as singers typically move a lot of air. [Mrs Bear's Sweet Adelines chorus does not know when it will be safe to restart in person rehearsals]

 

On a lighter note, an XKCD comic [March 6th] on casual vs intimate contact  

 

[ed01106]

30 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

The people I know that have had it had no fever, no coughing, no sneezing. I take their REALITY over anything the government or hospitals are saying. Yes it is a small sample size but it is a direct and factual.

Yeah, your sample size of 3 is more relevant than a sample size of thousands.