CANADA: Canadian officials have expressed outrage at a World Health Organisation advisory warning people against travelling to Toronto as well as to Beijing and to China's Shanxi province to help curb the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
Canada has 324 probable or suspect cases as of Monday, of which 259 are in Ontario where Toronto is located. Sixteen people have died, the only fatalities from SARS outside Asia, with the latest death announced yesterday.
Nevertheless the infection has largely been contained within an original cluster of cases arising from a traveller from China.
A furious Toronto mayor yesterday criticised the WHO. "Where did this group come from? Who did they see? Who did they talk to?" Mr Mel Lastman asked reporters.
"They sit somewhere, I understand Geneva, I don't even know where the hell they came from, and they make decisions. Let me be clear. If it's safe to live in Toronto, it's safe to come to Toronto. I dare them to be here tomorrow."
Ms Sheela Basrur, Toronto's medical officer of health, said "the outbreak is not over but it is definitely under control".
Canadian health official Dr Paul Gully told a press conference: "Anyone travelling to Toronto can be assured that Toronto continues to be a safe place."
The largest Canadian city is suffering an economic toll with visitors staying away and hotels reporting a 10-20 per cent occupancy rate.
Toronto is being shunned by companies and travel organisations, leading to a Globe and Mail headline yesterday saying, "Shunned in Canada and the US alike, Torontonians increasingly feel like lepers".
Two medical associations have cancelled conventions in Toronto and a Los Angeles-based cruise company is refusing to accept Toronto passengers. The drop in business activity has led the Bank of Canada to warn that it would dampen growth in the Canadian economy.
Health authorities in the US have advised Americans travelling to Toronto to bring their own thermometers, household disinfectants and surgical masks to protect themselves from SARS. Yellow card alerts will be handed to travellers at border crossings between the US and Ontario.
The United States has had no deaths from SARS and only 39 probable cases, although the New York mayor, Mr Michael Bloomberg, made a point of dining in Manhattan's Chinatown last week to dispel rumours that the infection had made the district unsafe.
The Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta sent a team of experts to Toronto on Tuesday.
"The Canadian officials are doing an absolutely outstanding job," said CDC director Dr Julie Gerberding.
She said that there was no reason to stay at home, but if travelling to Toronto, "be aware SARS is present in some settings in the community and you may wish to avoid the hospital or health care environment".
Canadian health authorities are concerned that despite strict protective procedures such as face masks and double gloves and gowns for health workers treating suspected SARS patients, the number of healthcare workers thought to be infected has grown to 66.
The CDC experts will look specifically at whether more extensive suiting is required. Many Toronto residents are taking their own measures to avoid contact with SARS, avoiding restaurants and public transit and declining to shake hands.