Beijing subway to identify non-mask wearing passengers

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - In yet more measures against the novel coronavirus pandemic, China will fit smart surveillance systems in the capital Beijing's subway lines to identify passengers not wearing masks.

Authorities have fitted subway trains with numerous high-resolution cameras to stop passengers without masks from boarding.

China has reported 81,865 confirmed cases of COVID-19, while 3,335 people have died due to the virus.

Beijing Subway Limited, which operates the metro lines, told state-run Xinhua news on Thursday that the cameras would capture passengers' images and transmit them to an intelligent background system for analysis and calculation which could identify whether they were wearing masks, waving for help or fainting.

The new system will also reflect information on passenger density and air conditioning in individual cars on carriage windows, which will function as screens.

Also sensing equipment will be installed in the cabins of train operators to detect whether they are tired or distracted by constant monitoring of facial features.

Regular vocal prompts will remind them in case of any problem.

- Two deaths in Wuhan

China’s National Health Commission announced that at least 63 coronavirus cases were confirmed on Wednesday.

Only two were locally transmitted, which were found in Guangdong province.

It added that two COVID-19 patients died in Wuhan city, where the virus was first reported last December.

Chinese health officials said 56 new asymptomatic cases had also been found, bringing the toll to 1,104 including 364 imported cases.

In the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, 960 cases of COVID-19 were reported.

- Global situation

After originating in Wuhan, China last December, the virus has spread to at least 184 countries and regions across the world, with its epicenter shifting to Europe, while China has largely come out of the crisis.

The virus infected nearly 1.5 million people worldwide, while some 336,000 people recovered from the disease, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. Over 89,400 have died.

Despite the rising number of cases, most people who get infected suffer only mild symptoms and make a recovery.