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WORLD> America
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Govts test for flu, hope they don't find it
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-29 14:55 Many of the measures may have seemed reassuring, but offered little real protection based on scientific evidence. In Singapore, thermal scanners were installed at airports to find people with fevers even though people infected with flu can spread it before and after they have a fever. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew told the Straits Times that nationals returning from Mexico would be quarantined.
Argentina also installed airport heat sensors and suspended flights from Mexico, as did Cuba.
Suspended Port Calls Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said they were temporarily suspending port calls in Mexico. Land-based tour groups were also calling off trips to the area's beaches. Tourists could not even seek solace in history. Mexico shut down all its Mayan ruins and Aztec pyramids, dotted through central and southern Mexico, until further notice. US officials distributed flu drugs such as Roche AG and Gilead Sciences Inc's Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline's Relenza from the federal stockpile. "It includes gowns and masks and things that could be used in hospitals to take care of patients," Besser said. US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said pork, soybean and corn prices had fallen in the last two days and decried the restrictions on pork trade. So far, ten countries have put restrictions on imports of US pork or swine. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk praised the Japanese government for publicly stating it would not ban US pork. "We want to make sure that a handful of our trading partners don't take advantage of this legitimate concern over public health and engage in behavior that could also damage the world's economy," Kirk said at a news conference.
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