Canada considers Sars screening

By Susannah Price BBC correspondent in Toronto

Canada may implement airport screening

The Canadian authorities have announced the death of an elderly woman from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, the twenty-first person to die from Sars in Canada.

As with all previous victims, the woman came from the province of Ontario.

Meanwhile the country's health minister, Anne McLellan says she will decide on Monday whether to introduce infrared screening at airports in two cities.

The Canadian authorities are looking for new ways to show they are doing everything possible to contain the Sars virus.

Health Minister Anne McLellan says they will probably start installing infrared devices at the airports in Toronto and Vancouver.

The machines, already in use in Singapore, monitor the body temperature of passengers.

Currently the only precautions at Canada's airports are posters and pamphlets listing Sars symptoms.

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The World Health Organization said one reason it advised travellers to avoid Canada was because Sars had been spread abroad from Canada.

The authorities still hope the advisory will change following a review on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Canadian foreign ministry has accused Taiwan of overreacting by banning visitors from Canada and other Sars-infected countries.

Health officials in Toronto have warned that up to six more Sars patients remain critically ill.

However they say the general public has nothing to fear and they were backed by the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who said Toronto was safe to visit.