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Coronavirus Watch: Are temperature checks the best screening tool?

Rachel Aretakis   | Paste BN

Temperature checks: Are they really the best screening tool?

They're "notoriously inaccurate," Dr. Anthony Fauci said last week, which is why he advises it's better to question people instead. For example, Fauci said his temperature has read as high as 103 degrees after he came inside on a hot day.

Public health experts have said in recent days that temperature screens are an imperfect tool, especially because many people may be asymptomatic or their case has not yet developed a fever.

It's Tuesday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here are the biggest stories of the day, as of 1 p.m. ET:

  • Nursing homes surge: Cases in nursing homes have hit a new weekly high, according to recent report, which shows "we've definitely taken a step back."
  • Back to *online* school: Students at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill returned to campus last week, but in-person classes have since been halted after several clusters of outbreaks have been reported in student living spaces. 
  • Gross, but good to know: Consider wearing a mask next time you visit a public restroom. Researchers say there's increasing evidence that flushing toilets – and now urinals – can release inhalable coronavirus particles into the air.  
  • New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden called President Donald Trump's comments "patently wrong" after he suggested that New Zealand was seeing a "big surge" in cases. New Zealand, with a population of 5 million, added 13 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, while the U.S., with a population of about 330 million, added more than 35,000 cases Monday.
  • Today's stats: New weekly case records were set in Hawaii, Kansas, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Record numbers of deaths were reported in North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and also Puerto Rico. The U.S. has reported 5.4 million cases and over 170,500 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. 

Thank you for reading! We appreciate you trusting the Paste BN Network with this important information.

– Rachel Aretakis, breaking news editor, @raretakis

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