Airline passengers arriving at and departing Canada’s 15 largest airports will all have their temperatures checked before boarding and will be turned away if they have fevers. Transport Canada said its part of a worldwide effort to curb the transmission of COVID-19 by air travel, which is widely believed to be the main way it became a global pandemic. “Foreign airlines will take temperature measurements … to make sure we minimize the possibility of reducing the virus into the country,” said Transport Minister Marc Garneau. “It will take us longer to purchase the equipment and set up the procedures to screen people taking domestic flights.”
The plan now is to install the handheld scanning thermometers at the four biggest airports catching international travellers. By the end of September, it will be expanded to the top 15 and include domestic passengers. Those who have a fever will get tested again after 10 minutes and if the fever is present on the second test they will be denied boarding. They’ll be able to rebook at no cost but only after 14 days.