A Conn. town backtracks on drone based covid-19 usage due to security concerns. The town of Westport, Conn which is located 52 miles northeast of NYC, which is the current epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak in the US, has announced that it has scrapped plans to use drone technology to detect fevers and coughing as a tool to help fight corona virus given push back about concerns with privacy.
The initiative announced earlier this week was overturned by local authorities after criticism by by the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut. They described it as a ““privacy-invading companies using COVID-19 as a chance to market their products and create future business opportunities.”.
This runs counter to other counties such as Italy, France, and China that have used drones as an effective tool to help battle the corona-virus by aiding health care workers and police to help monitor social distancing and best practices to help battle the corona virus.
The covid-19 pandemic has dramatically influenced drone usage worldwide as countries and their citizens struggle with the virus and it’s consequences.
The pilot program was announced in a news release from the Westport Police Department on Tuesday. A subsequent news release Thursday said the town would not be moving forward with the initiative.
