Marikina deploys 'talking' drone that takes your temperature

Imagine shopping for groceries and a drone suddenly hovers over you, scans your temperature, and "speaks" to you to tell you to stay away from crowded areas.

This is not a stuff of science fiction. This is already happening in Marikina City, which has just deployed a drone equipped with a thermal scanner and a speaker where public reminders are being announced.

A 24 Oras report on Friday said the "talking" drone was flown for the first time at the Marikina Public Market as an added measure to ensure city residents are strictly following community quarantine protocols on social distancing due to the threat posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Apart from the drone, the local government through the help of a private donor has also already set up a disinfection tent which sprays shoppers going in and out of the area with disinfectant.

Marikina is already looking to convert a building of one of its "super health centers" into a COVID-19 testing facility after the Department of Health (DOH) rejected the city's laboratory due to its location.

According to the Department of Health's (DOH) online tracker, seven patients who have been confirmed with COVID-19 come from Marikina. -MDM, GMA News