Flyers hiding virus infection show risks of reopening borders

Bloomberg

People infected with the coronavirus were allowed to board aircraft and travel to Hong Kong in recent days, highlighting the challenge of controlling the pandemic at the same time governments seek the safest ways to reopen borders.
Hong Kong’s health authority said one infected passenger arrived from Manila on a Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd flight, and another was on a Cathay Dragon flight from Kuala Lumpur. Both were diagnosed with Covid-19 before they travelled.
The infections underscore the risk of peeling back restrictions while cases continue to rise. Airlines worldwide, some propped up by government bailouts, have been lobbying to get their planes back in the air as they face more than $84 billion in losses this year.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents almost 300 carriers, in May recommended steps to protect passengers and crew from infection, such as temperature checks at the airport and wearing face masks on the plane.
But the Hong Kong cases show that infected passengers can bypass voluntary requirements, and there’s little airlines can do.
“Taking temperatures and having passengers wear masks on flights are steps we can do to ensure the virus doesn’t spread,” Korean Air Lines Co said in a statement.
“For measures to be put in place to ensure infected passengers don’t fly, it has to be done by the authorities and it’s not something an airline like us can do on our own.”
IATA last week outlined recommendations for Covid-19 testing, saying tests ideally would be done before passengers arrive at the airport and within 24 hours of travel. If testing is required during the travel process, it should be done at departure, and governments would need to mutually recognise test results, IATA said.
Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection said the 30 new cases on June 22 and 16 on June 23 all had a travel history during the incubation period. The passenger flying on Cathay Flight 906 from Manila, a 58-year-old man, tested positive in the Philippines on June 20, the day before he arrived.
Cathay said it learned about the passenger from health authorities after the plane landed.