Coronavirus: This Smartphone Checks For Covid-19 Fever

A Uganda-built smartphone called "G507" can be used to take people's temperature, helping detect a potential symptom of Covid-19. Chinese-owned SIMI Mobile hopes to work with Uganda's health ministry to supply the handsets across the East African country.

In the battle to beat Covid-19, SIMI Mobile is hoping its technology can help.

The Chinese-owned firm recently launched the G507 smartphone, which comes with a "built-in temperature gun".

The device has an infrared sensor on the rear, which lets users take a temperature reading. It's claimed to be a first of its kind in Africa.

Chief executive director David Beecham Okware says the phone took about four months to develop.

"One of the key most important things is that, how do we help the world or how do we help the government of Uganda, or Africa at large, in our contribution of fighting towards the Covid-19," he says.

"And that, of course, in our genesis we had to look into one more key component, which most people always look when they are trying to detect about Covid-19, that is by looking at the temperature of the person."

The most common symptoms of the coronavirus are fever, a dry cough, shortness of breath and fatigue.

Experts say temperature checks can help reduce the risk of Covid-19 infections but shouldn't be the only safety measure in place. People with the virus can be contagious without a fever.

Beecham Okware claims the G507 is superior to traditional temperature guns because it doesn't need to be calibrated.

"In this built-in gun temperature in the phone, it does what they call self-calibration. As long as you have configured your phone and you're connected to the internet, the phone does self-calibration," he says.

Uganda's Health Ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyoona says the technology could be a boost to the country's efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19, although it has yet to receive the required approvals.

After almost four months of lockdown, authorities have started easing restrictions, allowing some sections of the country to operate again.

"The innovators have come with a solution that we need at this time and we hope that it will go through the required approvals locally and internationally to ensure that it meets the standards with the same temperature guns we are using. And this will be used for screening with the relaxation of the lockdown," says Ainebyoona.

Uganda is comparatively low hit in terms of reported virus cases and deaths.

According to the Johns Hopkins University tally, the East African country has reported under 1,300 cases of Covid-19 and fewer than ten deaths.

That's largely attributed to an early lockdown imposed by the country's government.

"We have made big strides in terms of responding to Covid because we have had about over 1,200 cases and also over 1,100 recoveries, so we have less than 200 patients in admission, the active cases," says Ainebyoona.

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