Travellers warned off Canada

Richelieu · April 3, 2003, 12:52

For your own safety...

http://www.canoe.ca/OttawaNews/os.os-04-03-0005.html

Quote:

AT LEAST FOUR COUNTRIES---including the U.S. and Britain -- are warning citizens against travel to Canada because of the growing number of suspected SARS cases.

It was announced this morning that the only case in Ottawa wasn't actually SARS.

Still, it's only a matter of time according to the Director of a local hospital.

Urban Ranger · April 3, 2003, 13:00

Funny, since both of the US and the UK got it.

Richelieu · April 3, 2003, 13:05

I read somewhere that Canada has the 2nd largest number of cases.
7th death attributed to the illness was announced this morning. All of them in Toronto.

Urban Ranger · April 3, 2003, 13:10

WHO stats

Richelieu · April 3, 2003, 13:32

Quote:

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
WHO stats

thanks for the link.

The seventh death hasn't been unconfirmed as being caused by SARS. (yet ?

)

Inverse Icarus · April 3, 2003, 14:27

the real reason they're warding us off s because we lost faith in canada and plan to bomb them.

shhhh... the walls have ears.

Agathon · April 3, 2003, 17:13

The cases in Canada are all traceable "clusters": that is, they can be traced to certain individuals who brought the disease back from Asia. The outbreak occurred because a large number of health care workers were exposed to the infection before it was understood what it was. Also a SARS patient was transferred to another hospital and infected a lot of people there.

Since then everyone who has been exposed to the illness has been placed in some form of quarantine (most for 10 days which is the incubation period). Many people have completed their quarantine periods and are asymptomatic so the number of quaratined individuals is dropping. There is expected to be a blip of cases this week when a number of people who were exposed will have come into the incubation period but this is expected and they know who these people are and they are quarantined.

So all this scaremongering is really silly. The infection is so far contained to these clusters. The authorities know who these people are and have taken steps to prevent the spread of infection. Canada is no more likely to suffer from new clusters of infection than any other major country and since the current clusters are well known and contained there shouldn't be too much worry.

Of course some dimiwits are wearing masks on the subway when there is no real need, but there you go.

MrFun · April 3, 2003, 18:45

Some Americans do not know where Canada is, or what it is.

Skanky Burns · April 3, 2003, 18:49

Australia was warned off Cananda too.

KrazyHorse · April 3, 2003, 18:52

Australia was the first one, IIRC.

KrazyHorse · April 3, 2003, 18:53

This is sort of odd, though.

The US has a similar number of cases, and worse the cases are more spread out. In Canada almost all of the cases are in the Toronto area.

optimus2861 · April 3, 2003, 21:26

Plain old overreaction if you ask me. Like Frogger said, almost all the cases are in the Toronto area, and even then we're only talking ~200 cases in a city of 3,000,000+.

Willem · April 3, 2003, 21:50

Quote:

Originally posted by Agathon
So all this scaremongering is really silly.

If you think that's scaremongering, check this one out:

Economist overreacting perhaps?

Urban Ranger · April 3, 2003, 22:12

It's odd, people have a tendency to go panic at the slightest of hints.

Richelieu · April 3, 2003, 22:29

Quote:

Originally posted by Agathon
The cases in Canada are all traceable "clusters": that is, they can be traced to certain individuals who brought the disease back from Asia. The outbreak occurred because a large number of health care workers were exposed to the infection before it was understood what it was. Also a SARS patient was transferred to another hospital and infected a lot of people there.

Since then everyone who has been exposed to the illness has been placed in some form of quarantine (most for 10 days which is the incubation period). Many people have completed their quarantine periods and are asymptomatic so the number of quaratined individuals is dropping. There is expected to be a blip of cases this week when a number of people who were exposed will have come into the incubation period but this is expected and they know who these people are and they are quarantined.

So all this scaremongering is really silly. The infection is so far contained to these clusters. The authorities know who these people are and have taken steps to prevent the spread of infection. Canada is no more likely to suffer from new clusters of infection than any other major country and since the current clusters are well known and contained there shouldn't be too much worry.

Of course some dimiwits are wearing masks on the subway when there is no real need, but there you go.

Well, if the Canadian government was doing things the way they are supposed to i would be inclined to think the same way you do.

But i saw a guy on one of Quebec's local network this evening, giving an interview and saying how he just came back from teaching in Vietnam and Thailand.
He got off the plane in Vancouver and boarded another one to Ottawa. He is now in Montreal (I didn't hear whether he'd driven there or took another plane).
He said he was never asked any questions, business as usual, etc... and was really surprised about it.

I know i am.

Tingkai · April 3, 2003, 22:36

If you think that's bad, you should see what the Hong Kong government is doing.

When the virus first hit, it took about a week before the HK government decided that it would be a good idea to limit access to people with the pneumonia. Before then, the patients were allowed visitors.

Then the HK government declares a quarantine for anyone who might have come into contact with the virus. Part of the quarantine required these people to have daily check-ups at a medical clinic, which meant that every day these people were taking public transportation to the clinic.

When the virus hit an apartment block, the HK government quarantined everyone in the building, five days after the virus hit. By that time hundreds of people had already moved out.

Then the HK government decided to move the building's residents to "holiday camps" where dozens of people had to use the same bathrooms.

It's a friggin fiasco.

Urban Ranger · April 3, 2003, 22:43

Quote:

Originally posted by Tingkai
When the virus hit an apartment block, the HK government quarantined everyone in the building, five days after the virus hit. By that time hundreds of people had already moved out.

I don't think they can do that with the first reported case.

Quote:

Originally posted by Tingkai
Then the HK government decided to move the building's residents to "holiday camps" where dozens of people had to use the same bathrooms.

All these people have already been checked so it's quite safe. The idea is to move these people out to look for the environmental vector in Amoy Garden Block E. It doesn't take a lot of effort to clean a sink, does it?

RedFred · April 4, 2003, 01:59

It would probably be overreacting to avoid Toronto on account of SARS, but I can think of lots of other reasons not to go there.

To avoid travelling to another destination in Canada, particularly one several time zones away, would be extremely silly.

KrazyHorse · April 4, 2003, 02:03

Quote:

But i saw a guy on one of Quebec's local network this evening, giving an interview and saying how he just came back from teaching in Vietnam and Thailand.
He got off the plane in Vancouver and boarded another one to Ottawa. He is now in Montreal (I didn't hear whether he'd driven there or took another plane).
He said he was never asked any questions, business as usual, etc... and was really surprised about it.

The same is happening in the US and Europe, BTW.

The only reason to avoid Canada would be the high number of reported cases so far in a concentrated area (GTA)

But Asher's point is that these cases have effectively been taken out of circulation by quarantine procedures (them and their immediate contacts)

Urban Ranger · April 4, 2003, 06:53

Asher's point? What are you talking about?

Skanky Burns · April 4, 2003, 07:08

Read Asher's post in this thread.

Sikander · April 4, 2003, 09:25

Quote:

Originally posted by MrFun
Some Americans do not know where Canada is, or what it is.

Well I guess they are safe then. What you don't know can't hurt you.

Uncle Sparky · April 4, 2003, 22:46

The truly absurd thing about this warning is 5 of the fatal cases in Canada were members of the same family, one of whom had just returned from Hong Kong ! Once they had been isolated, the spread basically stopped.

Vancouver International Airport is checking incoming flights from infected countries (Toronto & Montreal also will be). The one suspect case so far in Vancouver was immediately isolated.

I think you'd have a better chance of catching Ebola in New York City or LA then SARS in any Canadian city.

re Ashers post- too true !

notyoueither · April 4, 2003, 22:52

Quote:

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
Read Asher's post in this thread.

What post?

Seriously. None is showing up.

Is the db in trouble again?

Six Thousand Year Old Man · April 4, 2003, 23:05

Quote:

Originally posted by Agathon
The cases in Canada are all traceable "clusters": that is, they can be traced to certain individuals who brought the disease back from Asia. The outbreak occurred because a large number of health care workers were exposed to the infection before it was understood what it was. Also a SARS patient was transferred to another hospital and infected a lot of people there.

Since then everyone who has been exposed to the illness has been placed in some form of quarantine (most for 10 days which is the incubation period). Many people have completed their quarantine periods and are asymptomatic so the number of quaratined individuals is dropping. There is expected to be a blip of cases this week when a number of people who were exposed will have come into the incubation period but this is expected and they know who these people are and they are quarantined.

So all this scaremongering is really silly. The infection is so far contained to these clusters. The authorities know who these people are and have taken steps to prevent the spread of infection. Canada is no more likely to suffer from new clusters of infection than any other major country and since the current clusters are well known and contained there shouldn't be too much worry.

Of course some dimiwits are wearing masks on the subway when there is no real need, but there you go.

This post? Asher = Agathon?

Uncle Sparky · April 4, 2003, 23:10

rotfl

Urban Ranger · April 5, 2003, 01:04

People are overreacting just a tad bit now.

Asher · April 5, 2003, 23:38

Quote:

Originally posted by Frogger
But Asher's point is that these cases have effectively been taken out of circulation by quarantine procedures (them and their immediate contacts)

Ouch. That was uncalled for.

Agathon · April 5, 2003, 23:43

Quote:

Originally posted by Six Thousand Year Old Man

This post? Asher = Agathon?

Man that's low. I'm declaring war against Frogger for that.

notyoueither · April 5, 2003, 23:55

Is this a delayed action April 1 thread?