10 Big Brother-style checks we will all face in bid to beat the virus
IRELAND is entering a Big Brother world, where people will be under unprecedented watch as a price for exiting lockdown and living with Covid-19. Checks and surveillance will be a daily norm in a trade-off for more freedoms. Here are 10 ways life is going to change:
1. Temperature checks at work
Many employers are expected to insist employees have their temperature taken at work before starting the day. Fever is one of the potential symptoms of Covid-19.
Infrared forehead thermometers, or so-called thermometer guns, can be applied to take a worker’s temperature. If the worker gives a reading of 38C or higher, they may be asked to go home and ask their GP for a test.
2. Tracing app
This phone app is expected to be ready next month as an aid to trace people who may have been in contact with a person who has tested positive, potentially putting them at risk.
The HSE has said its use will be voluntary and information will be stored on the phone and not centrally. Users can volunteer their phone number for contact tracing.
The Data Protection Commissioner is assessing it to ensure it is in keeping with privacy law. It is going to be tested on a few thousand users to begin with.
The take-up after that will be a measure of how far people are willing to put their trust in the technology.
3. No golf outside 5km zone
Expect more gardaí at checkpoints asking motorists where they are going once lockdown starts to ease.
They are expected to be stepped up to ensure people are not stretching the rules. The fear is that as the lockdown is loosened, people will be more daring when it comes to the distance boundaries.
There will be new temptations. If, for instance, golf courses and big garden centres open next week, people will not be able to travel to them if they are outside their 5km limit.
4. Death notices
The number of people who die from the coronavirus, or probably had it, will continue to be announced at the daily briefing at the Department of Health.
The doctors involved in the briefings always treat these statistics with the utmost of respect.
It is a necessary exercise as part of the fight against the virus. But nobody would choose their passing to be part of a daily statistic.
The details are anonymous and the only info given is their gender and the region where they died.
5. Tests as a matter of routine
More patients who turn up at hospital A&Es or are scheduled for surgery will end up being tested for the coronavirus.
They may have no symptoms, but depending on the procedures and the need for infection control, they will have to be tested.
If they have a medical appointment they may need to stay in their car until the doctor is ready to see them.
6. Airport checks
The Government is working on making passengers who fly in to Irish airports provide information on their whereabouts for two weeks.
This is to ensure they observe the 14-day self-isolation rule.
There are likely to be checks on them to try to find out if they are out and about.
It follows evidence that many people are declining to give their
accommodation and other details.
Although the numbers who are infected abroad and found to be positive when they return amounts to just a few hundred of the cases here, there is a fear than when the lockdown eases the infection could be imported here again, spreading to the wider community.
7. Surveillance in the park
From next week it is proposed that outdoor meetings between people from different households will be allowed. Outdoor sport or fitness activities will also be permitted. This will be confined to groups of no larger than four.
There may be official patrolling of some parks and other amenities to ensure this quota is not breached. It will be important to ensure there is no congregating of large groups where there is a risk of an increase in the virus spreading.
8. Shopping for cocooners
It is expected that people over 70 will be advised they can go shopping from June 8 – but they should wear a face covering and gloves.
Neither will be mandatory but there is an expectation that they will follow the advice.
This is for their own safety, but it means some of their independence may be sacrificed.
9. City centre limits
There are plans to place restrictions on the number of people who can travel to city and town centres from June 29. This is to avoid crowds, making social distancing difficult .
People may be asked to turn back if they are driving, or asked to disembark early if they are travelling by bus.
It is unclear how this will work and what kind of measures will be taken to say when a city centre street is too full.
10. Flight controls
Some airlines are insisting that passengers ask for permission if they want to use the toilet.
It is akin to a return to the classroom and asking the teacher. It signals another loss of privacy. This is to help to reduce risks from the virus by avoiding queues.