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Africa News of Saturday, 2 May 2020

Source: www.mynigeria.com

COVID-19: Robots checking temperatures, taking pulses in Tunisia.

AFP AFP

Robots capable of taking pulses and checking temperatures and blood oxygen levels have been deployed in a Tunisian hospital caring for coronavirus victims.

This move comes to limit the contact between staff and infected patients, in a first for the North African country.

With a total of 998 infections and 41 fatalities, the government had previously deployed robots on streets to enforce lockdown rules put in place to curb the spread of the virus.

The Punch reports that the nurses, doctors, as well as patients' relatives will be able to make virtual bedside visits.

"It allows a reduction in contact with the sick and therefore the risk of contaminating personnel," said Nawel Besbes Chaouch, a doctor leading the pulmonary department at the Abderrahmane Memmi hospital in Ariana, near the capital Tunis.

A screen mounted at the top of the robot enables audiovisual communication with patients, who in turn can see and recognise the faces of those caring for them – an impossibility when medics otherwise have to use full protective gear.

A website allows families to reserve a time slot for a virtual visit, where the robot is remote-controlled into the patient’s room to allow a video conversation.

The robot was designed and made in Tunisia, by Enova, a start-up based in Sousse.