HONOLULU -- Sen. Mike Gabbard on Tuesday accused Gov. Linda Lingle of not doing enough to protect residents from the swine flu spreading around the world.

State health officials said they are already doing more than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requires at airports.

State health officials said they are testing a handful of people for the swine flu virus, but no cases have been confirmed in Hawaii yet. Because it is still the flu season, the cases that have been referred for testing here could just be other types of flu.

The CDC has confirmed 64 cases in the U.S. Swine flu is believed to have killed more than 150 people and made more than 1,600 sick in Mexico.

One case officials checked out in Hawaii came in from screening at the airports. The passenger was swabbed and their test came out negative for swine flu.

Officials are evaluating a handful of possible swine flu cases that came in from doctors around the state. One of the patients had traveled to Mexico recently.

"I'm calling on the people of Hawai'i to join me in demanding that the governor and her administration do everything that they can and should be doing to protect the people of Hawai'i from the swine flu virus. Based on what I've seen, they've handed over that responsibility to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which has not even seen fit to formulate and institute a policy for Hawaii that is different from the mainland," Gabbard said in a written statement.

Gabbard said he was dismayed to learn the state is only taking passive action at the state's airports.

Right now, the state is relying on flight attendants and pilots, not trained medical personnel, to report incoming airplane passengers who appear to be sick. They would be taken to a quarantine station at Honolulu International Airport, where they would be swabbed and the swabs later tested for flu.

"It's outrageous that the state administration is basically sitting on its hands until after it's too late,” Gabbard said. "Hawai’i is extremely fortunate that we're isolated from the rest of the country and the world. The only way this virus can come to Hawai’i is by air and water. So we should be having a full court press to prevent that from happening."

"We should not be overreacting to a threat that we believe is currently manageable," Department of Transportation Director Brennon Morioka said.

Here are some of the recommendations Gabbard made:

Taking the temperature of incoming passengers.

Passengers coming from Mexico need to be more carefully screened.

Right now, passengers fill out agricultural/customs forms when they arrive. Why not make an announcement on each flight, and have them fill out an additional questionnaire detailing whether they have any symptoms and where they have traveled in the last week.

Distribute an info sheet to airline passengers and hotel guests with a hot line number to call if they develop symptoms in the next 10 days.

Interim CDC Science and Public Deputy Director Rear Adm. Anne Scuchat on Tuesday testified to Congress that temperature screening is not "very robust… there's some of quality of testing issues."

On restrictions, a World Health Organization spokesman said, "Border control operations do not work, travel controls do not work."

"As far as taking the temperatures of people in airports, that's not part of the CDC guidance at this point," Dr. Sarah Park said.

Hawaii health officials are getting reports of people asking their doctors for prescriptions to anti-viral flu medication like Tamiflu with plans to stockpile the drug. That is a bad idea, officials said because self-medicating without visiting a doctor could be dangerous and flu medication would not help other ailments that could be confused with swine flu.

State officials on Tuesday announced they have set up a special hot line for questions and updates about the swine flu. People with questions can call 866-767-5044 ext. 3. The phones will be manned from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekends.

Trained public health workers will answer the calls, officials said. The Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center in Colorado is working the phone line. The state had hired the company to answer calls about vog. Those calls have since died down, the state said.