A SCOTTISH company has unveiled a “track and trace system” using facial recognition and thermal imaging to detect people with high temperatures and infection.

Edinburgh-based Purview Services said it will mean mass screening in areas of significant footfall such as airports, hospitals, shopping malls, train stations and sporting stadia.

Officials can automatically monitor high volumes of people for Covid-19 and take prompt action to isolate anyone with suspected symptoms, it said.

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The technology was developed by Reddy Punna, chief executive of the enterprise technology specialist, who is a Covid-19 survivor having been diagnosed the virus on a business trip to India.

The system is capable of scanning 30 people per second and will indicate those at higher risk of coronavirus infection, so that they are swiftly detected and contained.

Mr Punna is currently unable to return to Scotland and so focused on developing the facial recognition and thermal imaging technology while in India.

Mr Punna said people entering any venue can be tested, claiming: “Immediate protection from the Covid-19 pandemic requires compliance with test, trace isolate and protection strategies and we’ve done this through the development of our optical attendance and access system.”