BORDER control measures are being tightened in light of the deadly new strain of Swine flu that has already killed more than 80 people in Mexico.

In a joint press statement with the Civil Aviation Authority issued on Sunday, the Ministry of Health said that as of 11pm on Sunday, all passengers arriving from the United States would be screened by thermal scanners that would check their temperature before they underwent immigration checks.

From 8am on Monday, thermal scanners will be deployed at the arrival halls of Terminals 1, 2 and 3 to screen all arriving passengers.

The scanners will also be deployed to the Budget Terminal and Seletar Airport by Wednesday.

Passengers with higher than normal temperatures will be made to go through a thorough medical assessment. Health alert notices containing information about Swine flu would also be placed at the immigration counters for all arriving passengers.

Though Singapore has not reported any incidences of the virus, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that it was 'better to play safe'.

He told reporters on Sunday that with globalisation, reports of the virus spreading to parts of the United States were a reason for concern.

'It does not mean that it'll definitely become a pandemic. But it's better to play safe and assume the worst rather than hoping that the worst will never come and when it does, it's too late to respond to it.

'As we learnt from SARS, better to be pro-active than behind the curve', he said.

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.