Health Canada hopes to have a system in place over the weekend to screen Canadians boarding international flights from Toronto for symptoms of SARS - though the eventual program may fall short of checking each individual boarding a plane.
The World Health Organization requested on Thursday that centres considered SARS hot zones screen outbound air travellers in a bid to contain the spread of the deadly disease. Health Canada officials said Friday they are continuing to work with airport authorities at Pearson to try to determine how to address the WHO recommendation.
"We feel that an interview of everybody in a check-in... would not be possible, in fact not practical," said Dr. Paul Gully, senior director-general of the department's population and public health branch.
As public health officials increased protective measures, they tried to dial down a factor that threatens to swamp medical services in Toronto: public panic.
Anxiety over the mysterious disease that has killed 53 people and struck down at least 1,485 people around the world has provoked a run on face masks.
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