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WHO says SARS no Longer spreading in Canada
( 2003-05-15 11:30 ) ()

The World Health Organization said on Wednesday SARS, which has killed two dozen people around Toronto, was no longer spreading in Canada.

The U.N. agency removed Toronto from its list of areas where the flu-like virus is being transmitted because 20 days -- twice the incubation period -- has passed with no new cases, indicating the virus was under control.

The last locally acquired case in Canada was isolated on April 20.

Canadian officials, who last month fought vigorously against a WHO advisory warning travelers to avoid Canada's biggest city, welcomed the announcement. The advisory, in place for a week, was lifted on April 29.

Ontario's health minister, Tony Clement, called the decision "an absolute vindication" for health workers and others who battled the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak.

But Canada, which has promised to step up airport screening of all travelers, said it must remain vigilant.

"There are still affected places in the world and obviously as a country we're most concerned about the importation of new cases after all the hard work to control and contain," Canadian health minister Anne McLellan told reporters in Ottawa.

SARS killed one more victim in Toronto this week, lifting the Canadian death toll to 24. The virus has killed nearly 600 people worldwide and infected more than 7,500 in nearly 30 countries.

In Toronto, the epicenter of the outbreak in Canada, there were 138 probable cases as of Wednesday and one patient listed in critical condition.

RELIEF FOR TORONTO ECONOMY

The WHO decision is a relief for Toronto, whose economy had been hard-hit by the outbreak and subsequent travel warning.

The city, which accounts for about a fifth of Canada's total economic output, has scrambled to limit the damage from the brief WHO advisory. It is trying to lure visitors with an advertising campaign, tax holidays and cheap deals on hotels, flights and entertainment events.

"It's going to take us a while to pick up the pieces," Transport Minister David Collenette said.

"It's good news that we've got a clean bill of health. I just feel it's tragic what happened before with the WHO advisory which not only maligned Toronto, it really maligned the whole country."

The SARS outbreak has already hit the broader economy. Canada's jobless rate jumped in April partly due to lost jobs in the hotel, tourism and health industries and the Bank of Canada has said SARS will weigh on second quarter growth.

On Wednesday, the WHO also said three new probable cases were reported in Hebei province, south of Beijing, but stringent infection controls in local hospitals were keeping the infection rate among health workers "remarkably low."

Almost two thirds of the world's SARS cases have occurred in China, where the outbreak first appeared in November.