Reader’s Digest (20 Ways City Life Could Change Forever After Coronavirus) featured David Williams in an article speculating about how city life will change after COVID-19.
After the September 11th attacks, physical security became an immediate priority in the United States. There was a visible increase in security measures and personnel in office buildings, throughout urban spaces, and in airports, along with new physical and digital surveillance technologies. According to David E. Williams, president of the Health Business Group, a consulting firm that specializes in technology-enabled health-care and medical devices, we could see health security post-COVID-19 elevated like physical security was after 9/11. “It will become a pervasive part of our urban economy and society,” he tells Reader’s Digest. “Expect temperature, face-mask, and handwashing checks at office buildings, city restaurants, and crowded public spaces. City sewer systems will be monitored for viruses. Counter-terrorism sensors on the streets and in subways that currently sniff for radiation and chemical weapons will be retrofitted to sense airborne virus particles, too.”