The scholar said that if traditional fever threshold of 38°C is used by schools across Taiwan to screen students, some infections may go undetected

Taiwan News
Date: 02020/02/18
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As children prepare to return to their studies, a scholar is recommending that schools across Taiwan use 37.5°C as a threshold for fever when screening students for potential infections of COVID-19, according to a Chinatimes report on Tuesday (Feb. 18).

Su Ta-chen (蘇大成), director at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at National Taiwan University (NTU), said that if the traditional fever threshold of 38°C is used, some infected students may go undetected, according to the report.

Therefore, Su suggested that schools lower the benchmark from 38°C to 37.5°C. Schools should stop students with body temperatures of 37.5°C or higher from attending class and refer them to a clinic or hospital to receive further screening and treatment, Su added.

In addition, secondary schools, elementary education, and kindergartens across Taiwan are scheduled to open on Feb. 25. However, as the new coronavirus continues to spread, the question of whether the schools should open as scheduled has been raised.    [FULL  STORY]