Airport Screening for Swine Flu

This week we went on an already planned trip to Huatulco, Mexico. We flew from Mexico City to Huatulco on Sunday and from Huatulco to Mexico City on Wednesday. With the Swine Flu pandemic all over the world having been suspected to originate in Mexico, we expected the airport to be crazy.

There was a military presence there, handing out masks to passengers. We expected to see that because we knew that they were handing out masks to people as they entered the subway. But handing out masks was pretty much the only sign of swine flu pandemic that we saw.

There was also the “screening” that we went through for them to let us on the plane. It consisted of a single sheet of paper (see the photo – click to enlarge) with a few questions on it.

It asked our name, age, gender, and then some very simple symptom questions. Do you have the following symptoms: Fever over 39 degrees Celsius, cough, headache, limb pain, joint pain, eye redness, and nasal flux. Then, it said, “If you have all of these symptoms, we recommend that you postpone your trip and see a doctor.”

That was it. I expected a little more. We got the same form on the way home from the beach.

I read today that they will be doing more screening now at the airports. I wonder what that will be like. I have heard that they will actually take your temperature at the airport. We’ll see what happens.

Screening for Swine Flu in airport Screening for Swine Flu in Airport