CANADA: Toronto officials have held an emergency meeting to deal with the economic fallout and health implications of the SARS crisis, which has been linked to 16 deaths in Canada. The meeting yesterday came one day after the WHO advised deferment of all non-essential travel to Toronto, sparking the anger of officials who said the warning was unnecessary.
Local reaction to the advisory was mixed, with Toronto headlines ranging from "Boo WHO" in the Toronto Sun to "Ottawa Tries to Erase Toronto's Black Eye" in the Globe and Mail.
"It's not the disease doing the damage, it's the public perception," Mayor Mel Lastman told city councillors at City Hall.
Up to Wednesday, Canada had reported 330 cases of SARS, the majority of which are in Ontario province (267), whose capital is Toronto. Toronto's medical officer of health, Dr Sheela Basrur, told councillors there were 147 probable and suspect cases in the city, with 56 still in hospital and 52 having been discharged.
The fallout from the seven-week-old SARS outbreak here is already evident with half-empty hotels and some stores, particularly those tied to the tourist industry, shutting their doors for lack of customers.
The federal government in Ottawa, which has sent gloves and masks, said it would consider action, but has offered no financial help other than to say it would waive the two-week waiting period for employment insurance for individuals who go into voluntary quarantine.