News

The Betty Kwan Chinn Day Center and the Eureka Rescue Mission are seeking non-contact infrared thermometers to check clients', volunteers' and workers' temperatures for symptoms of the novel coronavirus to keep everyone in their facilities safe.

Betty Chinn said that she has 20 open beds in the shelter she’d like to fill, but in order to do so, she needs to check new clients for fever, one of the main symptoms of the virus.

“I can’t find them anywhere,” Chinn told the Journal. “I need them to help intake new clients … I am desperate.”

The thermometers are sold out at local stores and online shipments are being delayed by growing global concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, said Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson, whose department is advocating for the centers.

Chinn said she was able to find a nurse to help her take temperatures but needs an infrared thermometer (which doesn’t require being inserted into a body cavity) to check temperatures twice daily, adding that the nurse isn’t always available.

“[The thermometers] aren’t a guarantee, but it’s an extra layer of safety and caution,” Watson said.

The Eureka Police Department is asking the community if they have an extra infrared thermometer they can donate to call the main desk like at 441-4060, Watson’s direct line at 441-4095 or the Betty Kwan Chinn Day Center at 407-3833. If there is no answer, email Watson at [email protected].