X-Message-Number: 21479 From: "Mark Plus" <> Subject: Canada.com: Thousands asked to wear masks as health officials extend SARS quaran Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 15:48:18 -0800 http://www.canada.com/health/story.html?id=%7BB7016096-D850-48D6-9189-1E1CCF4127CC%7D Thousands asked to wear masks as health officials extend SARS quarantine CASSANDRA SZKLARSKI Canadian Press Wednesday, March 26, 2003 TORONTO (CP) - Canadians in the thousands have been asked to "quarantine themselves," wearing masks and in some cases staying home over fears a deadly SARS outbreak contained to the Toronto-area would spread even further. Toronto's Medical Officer of Health said everyone who visited the east-end Scarborough Grace Hospital since March 16 should remain in their homes for 10 days since that visit. Their family members may go to work or school, but must wear a mask when at home and in contact with those who are at risk of infection. "We realize this is a substantial amount of people, we're talking about over a thousand we expect, this number will be in the thousands," said Dr. Sheela Basrur. "This is an incident of unprecedented scope and magnitude." The comments came as protective face masks flew off supply store shelves Wednesday as anxious Torontonians sought to shield themselves against a deadly SARS outbreak that prompted Ontario to declare a "health emergency." Police wearing surgical face masks descended on the hospital where two people died of the pneumonia-like disease, stretching yellow police tape around the perimeter and blocking the entrances with their cruisers, Citytv reported Wednesday. Ontario's Public Security Commissioner said police were providing protection for a helicopter about to land at Scarborough Grace Hospital carrying an infectious disease expert. The hospital has no landing pad, forcing the helicopter to land on the grounds of the hospital. "The police presence is simply to allow that to happen and ensure public safety by cordoning off the area," said Dr. James Young. News of the extended quarantine came hours after Health Minister Tony Clement announced he had declared a "health emergency" in Ontario. By using the province's emergency powers legislation, Clement was able to activate an action group to try to stop the spread of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. Dozens of households have already been quarantined and Scarborough's emergency room was closed earlier this week. A second Toronto hospital, Mount Sinai, stopped accepting new emergency patients on Wednesday. A Toronto elementary school has been closed since Monday. "We're taking this very seriously," Clement 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." A command centre will be set up and staffed 24 hours a day to co-ordinate all information from hospitals and health workers. The government has already designated the illness a reportable, communicable and virulent disease under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, which lets officials quarantine people against their will. About 25 Toronto residents showing symptoms of SARS, many of them health care workers, have been quarantined, some in hospital isolation rooms. Their family members have been told to stay home for at least 10 days. They must wear face masks while interacting with other family members, sleep in separate rooms and are forbidden to leave their home. Public health officials warn the total quarantine count could be in the hundreds. To date, there have been 28 cases of SARS reported in Canada, including three deaths. All but one case in Vancouver have been in Ontario. The outbreak has dominated the front pages of local newspapers, sending some Torontonians straight to a surgical supply store first thing Wednesday morning. "Before we even opened there were three people at the door and I think they cleaned us out at that point," said Jim Garde, general manager of Starkman's Home Healthcare. "It's gone crazy, we're trying to keep up with it right now. . . . It seems that about every second person that's coming in is buying a box of these masks." Garde's store provides masks wholesale to several pharmacies, as well as to Toronto's ambulance service, public health office and police force. But many of the customers he's seen in recent days have been regular citizens, fearful they could soon fall ill. It's made for huge sales for a business that generally sells one case of masks per month. "We've picked up 30 cases this morning, we've got another 125 cases tomorrow," said Garde. Health officials urged the public not to panic, pointing out that only people who have been in close contact - within about one metre, over a period of some time - with a person sick with SARS have become infected. Clement said he held a rare evening meeting with Ontario's chief medical officer Tuesday to discuss taking extraordinary measures to deal with the pneumonia-like illness. "(The) Health (Ministry) has an emergency situation, it recognizes that," he said. "We felt that because there were new suspect cases that this was warranted." On Tuesday, eight more probable cases emerged in Ontario, marking a substantial jump in suspected cases in Canada. Premier Ernie Eves said the province was doing what it could to address the mysterious disease that originated in China. "The more we can do to contain cases of SARS, the better, and make sure it doesn't spread any further than it already has," said Eves. Fears over the spread of SARS closed an east-end school until Monday after three kindergarten students fell ill with undiagnosed fever. The board stressed the fevers were not consistent with SARS symptoms and that the closure of the elementary school was a precaution. Other schools have sent notes home urging parents to watch for symptoms such as dry coughs and soaring temperatures and to keep sick children home. The closed school is a short walk from Scarborough Grace, which shut its emergency room earlier this week after treating two people who died from the disease. Clement noted that SARS posed a distinct threat from the West Nile virus, which is not as easily spread. "(SARS) is a potentially airborne disease," Clement said. "The degree of spread could be quite exponential if nothing is done." West Nile is spread by mosquitoes that have bitten an infected bird, not through person-to-person contact, such as coughing, sneezing or drinking from a shared cup. The SARS outbreak sickened hundreds in China. It was carried to Toronto by Sui-chu Kwan who was returning from Hong Kong. Kwan died of the disease March 5. Health Canada has urged Canadians planning trips to the most affected parts of Southeast Asia to defer travel for the time being. Those areas are Hanoi, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Guangdong province in China and Singapore. Grover Hayashi of Elite Orient Tours said about 20 people have postponed flights with his company in recent days, likely because of the Health Canada warning and anxiety over the war with Iraq. While such precaution with flights is probably prudent given the history of the disease, psychologist John Service said the scramble for face masks may be the result of heightened anxieties over the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the war in Iraq and political rhetoric coming out of the United States warning of possible threats to personal security. "People feel threatened particularly when a threat can't be readily identified. It's invisible, it could happen anywhere," said John Service of the Canadian Psychiatric Association. Copyright 2003 The Canadian Press _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=21479