State Sen. Mike Gabbard said today that the state needs to put "a full-court press" at airports to make sure swine flu does not enter the Islands.

Gabbard said the state should already be implementing the following procedures at airports:

— Taking the temperature of incoming passengers.

— Screening passengers coming from Mexico.

— Asking in-flight passengers to fill out a questionnaire detailing whether they have any flu symptoms and where they recently traveled.

— Distributing information to hotel guests, including a hot line number to call if they develop flu symptoms.

Gabbard said Gov. Linda Lingle was too passive yesterday in her response to the swine flu outbreak.

At a news conference yesterday, Lingle urged residents to remain calm but vigilant and to be prepared in the event swine flu makes its way to Hawaii.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann issued a similar statement.

"An ounce of prevention is going to be worth many, many tons of the cure," Gabbard said in a statement. "We can and must do more."