Malaysian police use drones to detect high temperatures amid Covid surge

Police in Malaysia are using drones to detect people with high temperatures in public spaces as part of Covid prevention measures, according to local media.

The drones, which can detect people’s temperatures as high as 20m above ground, emit a red light to alert the authorities if someone has a high reading, Bernama, The Guardian reports, citing Malaysia’s state news agency.

Though daily cases have since fallen, health director general, Noor Hisham Abdullah, has warned that the majority of new infections and deaths were from unknown contacts. “One of the reasons is the emergence of new variants in the community which have higher infectivity and mortality rates,” he said in a statement on Monday, urging people to stay home.

Under the lockdown rules, only two people from each household are allowed to go out to buy essentials, do non-contact sport, or seek medical treatment near to their home. Schools and shopping malls are shut, though much of the manufacturing sector has continued to operate with a reduced workforce.

Malaysian police have previously warned they will use drones to enforce earlier travel restrictions, with officers in some areas also stating they would carry out surprise home visits to ensure people were following rules.