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Thermal scanning passengers Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/38190/1/.htmlhttp://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/38190/1/.html
First created :
23 April 2003 2241 hrs (SST) 1441 hrs (GMT)
Last modified :
23 April 2003 2249 hrs (SST) 1449 hrs (GMT)
SARS temperature scans for all passengers leaving Changi Airport
By Asha Popatlal
From Wednesday, all passengers departing from Singapore's Changi Airport will be thermally screened for fever in a bid to stop the spread of SARS.
Up until now, Singapore has only been scanning passengers arriving from Hong Kong and China.
The thermal scanning of arriving passengers has also been extended to all SARS-hit areas, like Toronto and Hanoi.
Airport authorities say the advantages of such automatic thermal screening over manual temperature checks is that they make passengers feel more comfortable; the system is not as physically-intrusive nor is it as time-consuming.
It is all part of the effort make Changi Airport seem like a safe place to fly to or to transit through.
"What this means is that we have effectively provided 100 percent screening for passengers from all SARS-affected areas including Singapore," Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong said.
"This is a major boost to Changi Airport's immunity system. With this measure, Singapore will also be playing its part to prevent the exportation of SARS cases to other countries," he said.
Singapore now has seven thermal scanners at the airport but this will doubled by next week and raised to 26 by mid-May.
By then, the airport will start scanning all incoming flights, not just those from SARS-hit areas.
The Transport Minister also revealed that connections to six cities have also been lost, including those to Riyadh, Fuzhou, Mauritius and Hatyai.
The thermal scanners are used to spot travellers with a higher body temperature than normal.
A fever is a symptom of SARS, and a higher temperature shows up on the display as red patches.
Singapore opted for thermal scanning because it is non-intrusive and does not slow down travellers.
Departing passengers are scanned after they check in, before they pass through immigration.
If a passenger has a fever, he will be led to a medical station to be screened again by nurses.
Passengers with a temperature will have to get a doctor's certification before they are allowed to fly.
Singapore was the first country to introduce thermal scanners to screen air travellers about two weeks ago.
SARS in Singapore - Channelnewsasia.com's special coverage
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