'It's crackers!' What Manchester Airport passengers think of the lack of coronavirus screening
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... t-18147107
Coronavirus screening happens at airports in Uganda and Singapore where there have been barely any fatalities - so why isn't it happening here as UK deaths soar?
Terminal 1 was almost deserted on Friday. Today I'm here in a professional capacity, doing what journalists like to call a 'meet and greet': I'm asking people if they have been screened for coronavirus at some point on their journey here. As the number of Covid-19 deaths in the UK climbs towards 20,000 (and that's just in hospitals), questions remain about why there has been no screening for the virus for people entering the country, either at the start of the outbreak or now. The government say such testing is just not reliable - but it is used in parts of Africa and the Middle East where there have been far fewer deaths. This is an uncomfortable fact for government decision-makers who are coming under increasing pressure from some airports to introduce, belatedly, mass screening, antibody tests and even so-called 'health passports'. The arrivals board at Terminal 1 at Manchester Airport. An almost-empty KLM flight from Amsterdam has just landed, one of only nine arrivals at T1. The two other terminals have been closed because of the lockdown. This is an airport with two runways more used to dealing with 29m passengers per year. So instead of an average 80,000 passengers coming through the airport each day, the airport is seeing just a few hundred. I am told no more than two people were sitting on any single row of seats on the flight which has just landed from Schiphol. Some people wore masks on board. Others didn't.
Maybe a few dozen people, they walk through those familiar sliding doors. The first person I approach is off-shore oil industry engineer Royce Leonard, 54, from Hull, who is returning from a job in Holland. He confirms he wasn't screened at Schiphol or, of course, once he landed in Manchester. In fact, he travels the globe as part of his job and is rarely screened anywhere, he tells me. "It's crackers," he said, adding: "Three weeks ago I flew from Darwin in Australia to Qatar and into Heathrow and into Manchester and there was not one bit of screening anywhere. It's unbelievable. It's been like this from the beginning." He singles out Singapore (which has registered just 12 deaths) for praise: there, passengers must pass thermal imaging cameras. "If you flash up, they pull you to one side. If not, they leave you to travel. In the UK, if you come off an international flight you walk straight through," said Royce. Does he buy the UK government argument that screening doesn't work because it's unreliable? People who don't have a temperature can still have the virus. "Not really, no. If it shows a temperature then you have a temperature and it's better than nothing," he said.
The next passenger I speak is a woman who has flown from Uganda, via Schiphol. She doesn't want to be named. She is also wearing a mask. Uganda has reported fewer than 100 coronavirus cases and no deaths. "They check your temperature and if you have a temperature they won't allow you to travel," she said, pointing out that there was also a mandatory 14-day quarantine for anyone entering the country. She admits she is very concerned about the UK death toll. "It's scary. It's really not going down," she said. Asked whether there should be screening at UK airports, she said: "Yeah, it should be more strict. Absolutely. Stricter. At least some checks. You can't check everything but I think, yes, temperature. "I'm no expert but the model of the Ugandan government seems to be working. Nationals from other countries who have refused quarantine have been sent back because it's a real risk. If we want to keep people safe, we have to consider that."
Next I talk to a cargo pilot, wearing his uniform and waiting for his ride outside the T1 building. He doesn't want to be named. Whilst on his travels, he said he had only seen screening in Africa, certainly not in the UK or the rest of Europe. Screening wasn't the answer but 'could be a help' if only to alert people who weren't aware, he admitted. He wasn't wearing a mask and seemed pretty relaxed about the crisis. Asked what he thought about the lack of screening at European airports, he said: "If there's no screening then nobody knows." I thank him for his time and walk away, plonking myself down on a seat to check my notes. The pilot walks by and said: "You can add to your list the Middle East." Aside from temperature checks, at Middle East airports they also carry out a nasal test. "It's very strict there," he said. I noted he appeared phlegmatic about the lack of screening before. "This for all our safety. I think it's stupid people don't realise that," he said, before continuing on his way.
Officials at Manchester Airport are reluctant to be drawn on the controversy, unlike the boss of Heathrow Airport who has reportedly written to Health Secretary Matt Hancock to demand routine temperature checks, antibody tests and a requirement for all passengers to carry a 'health passport' to show they are healthy. Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye is said to want Public Health England to release data to prove their claim that temperature screening doesn't work. The chief executive of Manchester Airport Group (which includes Manchester and other airports) Charlie Cornish is keeping his head down while his counterpart at Heathrow appears to be ruffling government feathers. Instead, Mr Cornish and his staff defer to the government, saying they are only following the advice that has been given. An airport spokesman would only say: “Our number one priority is the safety and security of all our customers and colleagues. We are currently operating the airport in line with guidance from Public Health England. We are constantly monitoring the situation and, should that guidance change, we will respond accordingly.� We asked Public Health England for a statement and they said: "Manchester Airport as all other UK airports are following advice and protocols set by the UK Government. All UK airports, Manchester included, have leaflets and information for travellers on signs and symptoms and what do to if they feel unwell. "Most people who develop symptoms will get them after leaving the airport and so our priority is providing UK residents and travellers with the latest information to make sure they know what to do if they experience symptoms, and the NHS and PHE have an established plan to respond to someone who becomes unwell. "Clinical entry screening (for example through temperature checks) would be of very limited effectiveness and detect only a small minority of cases as symptoms. This is because symptoms do not usually appear until 5-7 days, and sometimes up to 14 days." So, while the few passengers still flying in and out of Manchester Airport might not like it, coronavirus screening isn't going to be happening any time soon if the government sticks to its position.
