UK: Suspicion that Far East screening procedures are not stringent enough
British health inspectors are to be sent to airports abroad to make sure authorities are screening passengers for SARS before they fly to the UK.
The Government made the announcement after warnings from the World Health Organisation (WHO) that some airports in the Far East are not being stringent enough on screening procedures – meaning that SARS victims are still likely to get into the UK.
The Health Secretary Alan Milburn said if individual airports failed checks, passengers would be tested on arrival in the UK. He told the House of Commons: “We will consider screening passengers on individual flights on entry to Britain, including asking them to make a signed declaration they have not been in close contact with SARS cases or have symptoms themselves.”
For its part, the WHO now says the disease has now peaked in every country it has been found – except China. A spokesman said: “It seems it has peaked in Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Vietnam – but not China. Unfortunately, in China it is on the increase.”
