Syndromic screening for COVID-19 of travellers crossing land borders: scientific brief, 21 December 2022

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries have been performing syndromic screening of travellers who cross land borders.  Methods include screening for fever and respiratory or other symptoms, observation and completion of health declaration forms. Communities neighbouring land borders are often very closely connected by economic and social activities and family ties and many travellers cross land borders daily or more. The issue of informal ground crossings and porous borders adds complexity to the assessment of the effectiveness of any intervention used to control the spread of COVID-19. This document, which chiefly targets public health and border crossing policy-makers, evaluates available scientific evidence regarding the efficacy of syndromic screening to prevent or limit the spread of COVID-19 at land borders.