X-Message-Number: 21477 From: "Mark Plus" <> Subject: SARS IN CANADA: Ontario declares 'health emergency' Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 10:05:05 -0800 http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030326.ubugga0326/BNStory/National Ontario declares 'health emergency' Globe and Mail Update with Canadian Press Ontario Health Minister Tony Clement has declared a "health emergency" to fight an outbreak of a mysterious illness that has killed three people in the province and left dozens sick or in quarantine and forced the closing of a Toronto school. Mr. Clement announced on Wednesday that he has activated an action group under the province's emergency powers legislation to try to counter the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which has spread rapidly internationally and made hundreds around the world ill. "We're taking this very seriously," he said. "By characterizing it as a health emergency, we are giving ourselves the powers that we need and the information that we need at the most appropriate time to ensure that we can contain this disease as soon as possible." The move means that a command centre is being set up and will be staffed 24 hours a day, co-ordinating all information from hospitals and health workers on SARS. About 25 people in Toronto showing symptoms of SARS, many of them health-care workers, have been told to stay home for 10 days. But public health officials warn the total quarantine count could be in the hundreds. Those under quarantine are obliged to wear face masks indoors while interacting with other family members, and they are forbidden to leave their homes to go to work, school or even the grocery store. Sheela Basrur, Toronto's medical officer of health, said Tuesday that her office is racing to track other patients or friends who came in contact with those sick health workers, a search that has already led them to join forces with local school boards. "The number of people to be quarantined has yet to be determined," Dr. Basrur said. "But we expect that this number could reach into the hundreds." David Lewis Public School in Scarborough announced on Tuesday it would close and not reopen until next Monday as a "precautionary measure" after three junior kindergarten students developed high fevers, one of the symptoms of SARS. Other schools have sent notes home urging parents to watch for symptoms of the atypical pneumonia, such as dry coughs and soaring temperatures, and to keep sick children at home. Vancouver and Edmonton have reported one suspected SARS case each. But Ontario now reports 48 suspected or probable cases, including those of the Scarborough health workers, and three deaths. The Toronto situation has taken on an eerie resemblance to the one unfolding in Asia. Some schools have closed in Hong Kong, and the government of Singapore has already ordered 740 people under house quarantine. They could face fines of about $4,400 if they disobey. The Asian experience prompted Health Canada to upgrade its travel advisory on Tuesday, saying "Canadians should defer all travel until further notice" to Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, and China's south province of Guangdong, where an atypical pneumonia first broke out last November. Internationally, labs continue to come up with different answers about the agent behind SARS. Both a coronavirus, which is linked to the common cold, and a human metapneumovirus, associated with mild respiratory ailments, have been identified by several labs. "It is not very easy to fight against an infectious disease when we don't know what the cause is," said Atilla Turgay, chief of staff at Scarborough Grace Hospital, which has closed its emergency department and restricted admissions and visitors. Health workers at Scarborough Grace took no precautions when they dealt with a SARS patient in early March, since they knew nothing of the disease at that point. The patient had contracted the illness from his mother, who had recently returned from Hong Kong. He died March 13. From March 15 to March 21, health workers began falling ill. Not realizing their symptoms signified more than a routine respiratory bug, some of the 25 health workers continued to work last week, health officials confirmed. Their families are now being confined to their homes. Public-health officials are phoning them twice daily to ensure they remain at home and to record their temperatures. Protective face masks are to be worn around other family members and changed three times a day, since SARS is thought to spread through respiratory droplets. The health office suggests these households have friends or family leave food on the doorstep, or order it through the Internet. _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=21477