ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — St. Augustine will be part of a national medical project that is tracking fevers, from people’s homes, as a way to monitor the first signs of COVID-19.
A company called Kinsa, which makes thermometers, and other healthcare products, has teamed up the City of St. Augustine to distribute 600 thermometers to willing residents. They will literally take and track the temperature of the city’s people.
Dr. Nirav Shah, MD and Senior Scholar at Stanford University Clinical Excellence Research Center is an adviser to Kinsa.
He explained to First Coast News Thursday, "The first time you use the thermometer, to you set it up with your phone. When you use it, you click on who’s using it. That temperature, as soon as it’s taken, wirelessly is transmitted to your phone and to our service."
"Where you have enough of these out in the community, you can get signals of where are the fever clusters," he explained.
Kinsa thermometers have been used to track the regular flu for years.
"What’s new is now we’ll be able to track COVID-19 in the community," Shah said.
He said St. Augustine is the only Florida city in that pilot program tracking COVID-19. Cities in California and Texas are also participating.
St. Augustine City Manager John Regan said, "The faster you can identify a trend, the faster you can be reacting."
According to a city spokesperson, the city paid about $12,000 for the thermometers. They’ll be given out to 600 residents for free, which will anonymously track about 10 percent of the city’s population.
City Manager Regan said, "We’ll be conducting a screening process when people want to participate. We’ll be looking for larger households, households with children, and at risk people that have careers that move them in the community."
Shah said, "I’m so glad St. Augustine, the oldest city in the country, is taking this on. What we can learn from you and your pilot project will apply to help all Americans. Do your part. Shelter in place. Stat at some and self-isolate."
The project is slated to start April 22. If you want to participate, email the city at kinsa@citystaug.com.