Posted on Fri, Apr. 25, 2003
By Thomas H. Maugh II and Usha Lee McFarling
ContraCostaTimes.com-LOS ANGELES TIMES
TORONTO -In an effort to stave off economic disaster, Canadian officials launched a campaign Thursday to repudiate the World Health Organization's warning that it is potentially dangerous to travel to Canada's largest city because of an outbreak of SARS.
Local officials met Thursday morning to plot strategies to restore tourism in this normally bustling city, dispatching Canadian diplomats to WHO headquarters in Geneva to plead for the warning to be rescinded.
"Fortress Toronto" and "Boo WHO" read banner headlines on local newspapers, as the mayor and other officials made high-profile public appearances to dispel what they considered misguided perceptions about the city, the sixth largest in North America and the financial capital of Canada.
Toronto officials argued that, despite the WHO warning, they were making major progress in controlling SARS, formally called severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Dr. Sheela Basrur, the city's chief medical officer, said that Toronto had not had a new case for seven days.
"The outbreak will be over when 20 days have elapsed with no new cases," she said. "It's been about a week so far, at least."
WHO's warning against unnecessary travel, issued Wednesday, was quickly echoed by the governments of Britain, France, Ireland, Australia, Venezuela and Jamaica. Local hotels, convention centers and theaters were already beginning to feel the effects of canceled reservations.
Some good news came from the nearby province of Nova Scotia, which has issued a similar warning on Wednesday, then withdrew it overnight.
U.S. officials were reluctant to criticize WHO's decision to issue the warning, but went out of their way to support Toronto's position.
"U.S. citizens traveling to Canada are not at risk for SARS if they avoid hospitals and take common sense precautions," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The United States is by far the largest source of foreign visitors to Canada, with more than 62 million border crossings each year.
Gerberding said the CDC expected to begin issuing travel alerts Friday to people crossing into the United States from Canada by car and plane.
The cards, already issued to people arriving by plane from Asia, explain the symptoms of SARS and tell what to do if symptoms occur.
But Gerberding did not seem unduly concerned about the risks to U.S. travelers.
The original cases of SARS in Canada occurred among people returning from Asia, and most of the subsequent spread has been among health care workers exposed in hospitals, she said.
There have been no unexplained cases developing in the community, as has been the case in Hong Kong and China.
To date, Canada has had about 330 probable and suspected cases of SARS and 16 deaths, the only deaths from the disease outside Asia.
The CDC said the United States has 39 probable SARS cases, the most recent one coming Saturday. There have been no SARS deaths in the United States.
"The optimistic view is that we are beginning to see the benefits of containment measures," Gerberding said.
Toronto officials feel much the same way, but they also feel a strong sense of outrage.
"They (WHO) have quarantined an entire city," said Mayor Mel Lastman. "I demand that WHO come to Toronto and see for themselves that Toronto is safe to visit, safe to work in and safe to play in."
Masks are rarely sighted on Toronto streets.
Bus and subway drivers have been ordered not to wear masks, even though some reportedly would like to do so. There have been no cases of infection on public transportation, officials said, so there is no need for the masks.
The Canadian government's effort to rescind the WHO travel warning will probably do no good.
The warning will remain in force for a full three weeks, WHO spokesman Jon Linden said Thursday.
"To say that Toronto has a very good health service and that the likelihood is not high of getting the disease if you get to Toronto is fine, but it does not change the basic criteria of our travel advice," he said.
The warning was issued, he noted, because there was an increase in cases, there was a geographic spread in cases and there was an export of cases.
According to the WHO's latest tally there are 4,439 SARS cases around the world. The current death toll stands at 263.
DUALISMO
Jamás pensé que estábamos tan RADICALIZADOS. Mis buzones de Hotmail colapsaron todos con solicitudes de información sobre el recién nacido “MOVIMIENTO DE DEFENSA RADICAL” (M.D.R.). Me preguntan dónde se “anotan”, dónde ésta nuestra sede… quién es el Secretario General y quiénes conforman la “cúpula” de nuestro movimiento.
En verdad todo este asunto es nuevo para mí. Mi “grave problema” es que no soy político; si lo fuera, me hubiera ahorrado unos cuantos problemas en mi vida personal. Responderé, eso sí, las dos preguntas más repetidas de las tantas que he recibido en los últimos días.
- La sede del M.D.R. es la red. Se trata de un “movimiento cibernético” cuya primaria función es alertar, informar, educar y sugerir métodos y planes de lucha.
- No tenemos “funcionarios” altos o bajos. No hay “Secretario General” ni cúpula verde, madura o podrida. Si usted comulga con nuestros postulados, usted es nuestro colega dentro del M.D.R., así esté inscrito en COPEI, AD, PRIMERO JUSTICIA o cualquier otro partido digno donde militan los venezolanos de buena voluntad.
De hecho, ahora que lo pienso, somos un movimiento DUAL, porque todo nos viene en grupos de a dos. Hay dos preguntas tremendamente importantes que usted se puede formular para decidir si comulga con nosotros dentro de los conceptos que maneja el M.D.R.
1 ¿Considera usted que el régimen de Hugo Chávez intenta solidificarse como parte del cartel comunista dirigido desde Cuba por Fidel Castro?
2. ¿Cree usted que un régimen CASTRO-COMUNISTA se combate convocando a elecciones generales, referendos revocatorios o constituyentes?
Si su primera respuesta es “SÍ” y la segunda es “NO”, entonces usted – definitivamente – comulga con nuestros postulados.
Caracas, 26 de abril de 2003
Robert Alonso
robertalonso@cantv.net