Covid-19: The office after lockdown - 6 Minute English

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from

BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

And I'm Sam - still working from home, as

you can hear. But for many, the return to

the office has begun.

And to make things safe, new thermal

cameras are being installed in some

workplaces. They

measure body temperature

to screen for coronavirus.

After weeks of working at home the

return to the office is slowly

getting underway in

a number of countries.

But workplaces are having to change

in this coronavirus era. Lots of

companies are rushing

to install technology to make offices and

workplaces safer.

Sensors that monitor our

movements, smartphone apps

that alert us if we get too close to

workmates and even devices

that take our temperature could all

become the new normal - that's

a phrase we hear a lot

these days, meaning a previously

unfamiliar situation that has become

usual and expected.

In this programme we'll take a look at how

this technology works and ask if it really

is the answer we're looking for.

But first, today's quiz question.

The thermal cameras I mentioned

screen for coronavirus

by recording skin temperature in the area

of the body which most

closely resembles the

internal body temperature - but

which area is that? Is it:

a) the eye, b) the ear, or c) the nose?

I'll say a) the eye.

OK, Sam. We'll find out later if you were

right. Now, as employees slowly return to

work, tech companies are busy

finding ways for them to do so safely.

One such company,

'Microshare', is managed

by Charles Paumelle.

He spoke to BBC World Service

programme Tech Tent

to explain a possible solution.

The technology that we are offering

is using Bluetooth wristbands

or tags that people are

wearing within the workplace which

detect proximity events.

When the proximity event

has been recorded its been saved

by the company in case they need to,

further down the line,

retrace the steps of a certain person who

has been declared as infected

and inform anyone

else they may have been in contact with.

One important way to control coronavirus

involves contact tracing. This means

that someone who

tests positive for the disease informs

everyone else they've been

in contact with. Microshare's

system for this uses Bluetooth -

technology that allows computers,

mobile phones and other

devices to communicate with each other

without being connected by wires.

Employees wear Bluetooth wristbands

which register when workers

come into close proximity

- how near a person is to another person.

Anyone who has been close to

a workmate will then know they

have to take action if that

person is found to have coronavirus

later down the line - in the future.

Wearing wristbands, monitoring data

on smartphones and being recorded

by cameras - it all feels

like quite a big invasion of privacy,

doesn't it?

It certainly does, and although some

argue that such measures

are necessary in these

unprecedented times, others are

worried about the possible

consequences. Here's human rights

lawyer, Ravi Naik, with a warning:

From a human rights perspective, you

have to try to ask, are you

trying to use tech

for tech's sake - is this actually going to

facilitate an understanding of who is safe

to go back to work or not?

And if not, what's the necessity

of this because it's such a

significant interference with basic

human rights. There has to be

a high level of evidential

justification to deploy this

type of technology and

I just don't think it's there.

Ravi questions whether these devices

will actually help identify

who can return to work,

or whether the technology is being

used for its own sake - an expression

meaning doing

something because it is interesting

and enjoyable, not because you need to.

Ravi's work as a lawyer involves finding

proof that something is right or wrong.

If people's

human rights are being interfered with,

he thinks there has to be

evidential justification

- explanation of the reasons

why something is the right thing to do,

based on evidence.

Like the evidence from

screening body temperature...

...which bring us back to today's quiz

question. Remember I asked

you which part of the body

is scanned by thermal cameras

to measure body temperature.

And I said a) the eye.

And you were absolutely right!

There's a small area of the eye

close to the tear ducts which

is the most accurate part of the skin

for measuring body temperature.

Well, there you go. We've been discussing

how thermal cameras

and other workplace devices

being used to prevent coronavirus

are becoming the new normal - a

previously unfamiliar situation

that is becoming normalised.

Some of these devices are wristbands

with Bluetooth - technology

allowing computers

and smartphones to communicate

remotely without wires. They can identify

work colleagues who

have been in close proximity - in other

words, near to each other.

That will be helpful if one of them tests

positive for coronavirus further down the

line - at some point in the future.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused

massive changes in workplaces

around the world but

some critics are concerned

that contact tracing technology

is being used for its own sake

- because it is interesting and enjoyable

to do, rather than

being absolutely necessary.

And since much of the new tech

invades personal privacy

it should only be introduced with

evidential justification - explanation of

why it is the right thing to do, based on

evidence.

Unfortunately, that's all we've got time for,

but remember join us again. Bye for now!

Bye!