The 2019 novel coronavirus, (also known as COVID-19), has unexpectedly taken the globe by force in a devastating way. Since its November 2019 inception to date, there are over 2 million cases and over 100,000 deaths in the United States alone. Globally, there are over 7 million COVID19 cases and over 400,000 COVID-19 related deaths. While much of COVID-19 is still a mystery and ongoing, it has been categorized as a respiratory infection that carries symptoms including, but not limited to: fever, coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, body chills, body aches, confusion, bluish lips or face, loss of smell or taste, and nausea. If not promptly addressed, COVID-19 can result in complicated pneumonia, respiratory failure, organ failure, and death.

COVID-19 quickly spread throughout the globe, not providing health care professionals adequate time nor opportunity to properly prepare preventative and treatment plans. Therefore, states across the United States quickly shut down all public establishments other than those that are considered essential in attempts to flatten the curve. Restaurants, schools, houses of worship, and workplace offices closed while hospitals, clinics, and grocery stores remained open. The shut down was implemented to encourage people to stay home as health care workers scrambled to grasp an understanding of the unknown.

After approximately 3 months, states have slowly begun to re-open establishments and public attractions. It is important that authoritative figures note that public establishments cannot operate at the same capacity and functionality as it did prior to COVID-19. Many medical experts have even stated that the first states to re-open opened prematurely and as a result, COVID-19 cases have spiked. Until a vaccination or another form of treatment is discovered and accessible to the public, all public establishments, such as workplaces, schools, and houses of worship should take preventative and protective measures to protect their staff and other community members.

In addition to social distancing, schools, houses of worship, and workplaces should incorporate tools to take the temperature of all people who wish to enter the establishment before entrance. Digital temperature checks not only monitor people who are already sick, but also can detect a person who is unknowingly bringing a contagious virus or illness into a school, workplace, or house of worship. Temperature checks are effective because a person who tests positive for COVID-19 may not show any symptoms. Temperature checks prevent people from unknowingly spreading viruses or illnesses.

A healthy person’s body temperature should range from 96 degrees Fahrenheit to 99 degrees Fahrenheit. If a person’s body temperature reads higher than the healthy range, that person should be treated as if they are contagious and not be admitted entrance to the establishment. That person should undergo quarantine and rehabilitation to recuperate from the illness. According to the CDC, a fever for COVID-19 purposes is any temperature at 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

However, state and local guidelines regarding temperature levels may provide different measurements. Certain state and local governments and agencies have set their own, more restrictive or less restrictive thresholds for what constitutes a fever. These guidelines, in addition to the person’s body temperature and symptoms should be taken into account in determining whether a person should enter a house of worship, workplace, or school.

Although a fever is not the only symptom of COVID-19, a fever does indicate an underlying, potentially contagious illness. A fever can signal the presence of the coronavirus, cold, flu, or some sort of infection in the body.

The most troubling aspect of COVID-19 is that there is no cure or treatment available to the public. Healthcare professionals are working harsh hours on a daily basis experimenting to develop a vaccination strong enough to treat the coronavirus in half the amount of time it normally takes to develop a vaccination. All the while, healthcare workers are also working to treat incoming and current patients in heavily packed hospitals and clinics, in addition to patients in such treatment facilities for reasons other than COVID-19.

It would be in the best interest of public health for public establishments to remain closed and encourage people to stay home. However, in the event that a school, house of worship, or workplace chooses to open, such establishment should, at minimum, adhere to social distancing procedures and on-site temperature checks prior to entrance.