Covid-19: CERN introduces the wearing of a "proximity meter" to enforce barrier gestures
The iconic Globe of Science and Innovation of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), in Meyrin, near Geneva, January 29, 2019. AFP - FABRICE COFFRINI
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Faced with the various setbacks surrounding vaccination in Europe, barrier gestures remain the main weapon against Covid-19.
At the Franco-Swiss border, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern) thinks it has found a tool to enforce them: a proximity meter.
All those in person must wear this box which vibrates as soon as we get too close to another person.
While this may seem intrusive, the device is above all very effective.
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With our correspondent in Geneva
, Jérémie Lanche
“
There, I am 1.95m from you and the box reminds me that we are not 2m from each other
.
Jacques Fichet very quickly became familiar with the proximeter.
Like all CERN employees, he often has to wear a dosimeter to measure the radioactivity received in certain laboratories.
So one more box is not the sea to drink, he opines: “
It's not more complicated than a smartphone that vibrates in the pocket when you ring.
At first, smartphones were annoying when it sounded in public and then, now, we are used to it ringing in public
”.
The proximeter vibrates as soon as its wearer remains
within two meters of another person
for more than 30 seconds
.
A little confusing at first, concedes Rachel Bray, but ultimately very useful.
“
It also trains us to better know how to keep our distance
,” he explains, also an employee at CERN.
I've noticed that I don't get too close to people now.
"
The data from the boxes are sent to the medical service, which must manage around ten positive cases each week at CERN.
Nearly 11,000 people work there in normal times and the proximity meter is one of the guarantees of their face-to-face return, according to the head of the occupational health and safety unit, Christophe Delemare: “
The interest will be even stronger in the intermediate situation and with many more people at Cern.
Maybe there will be people who are fed up with wearing masks, so having that can allow us to identify risky situations again.
"
And the device has already proved its worth: several contact cases have been notified thanks to the data retrieved from their proximity meter.
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See also:
Switzerland: a critical situation and slightly restrictive anti-Covid measures
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