Worst of SARS over in Canada, WHO says - GoFuckYourself.com

bogo · 04-28-2003, 09:30 AM

Bangkok ? The World Health Organization said Monday that the SARS outbreak is spreading rapidly in China, but that the worst of the epidemic appears to be over in Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Vietnam, meanwhile, has become the first country to contain its SARS outbreak, and the WHO lifted all advisories against travel to that country.

?It appears from the reports we have from Hong Kong, from Singapore, from Toronto and from Vietnam that the epidemic has peaked in those countries,? said the WHO?s chief of communicable diseases, David Heymann.

Those countries ?are having fewer cases every day and, in some cases no more, such as Vietnam.? Dr. Heymann said.

?So we are hoping and it appears that the outbreak has peaked in those countries.?

Dr. Heymann described ?a peak? as the point when an epidemic hits ?a maximum number of cases per day.?

?In most countries they have had one or two peaks and they are on their way down and they will stay down,? he said.

The WHO believes that in Canada, transmissions have stopped completely ?and they are at the very bottom of the down slope,? he said.

But Dr. Heymann, who is in Bangkok to attend an emergency summit meeting on SARS of Southeast Asian leaders on Tuesday, said the situation is worrisome in China.

?In China, as you know, we are receiving more and more reports of cases and it doesn?t appear it has peaked as far as spread [of the disease is concerned],? Dr. Heymann told reporters.

Worldwide at least 332 people have died of severe acute respiratory syndrome, mostly in China and Hong Kong. It has sickened around 5,000 people.

Canada has reported 21 SARS deaths among more than 300 suspected or probable cases of the disease. Most of the SARS cases, and all of the deaths, have been in the Toronto area.

Until now, countries were obliged to report to the WHO only three infectious diseases ? plague, yellow fever and cholera. Now SARS has also been made mandatory because of China, Dr. Heymann said.

Referring to the secrecy that the Chinese government had maintained for so long on the disease, Dr. Heymann said the WHO will be able to tell ?clearly? within two weeks ?what?s going on in China? with the help of several teams now working in that country.

Dr. Heymann said experts are aware that SARS is still spreading in Beijing, Shanghai and some other provinces.

?China has made great advances in opening to the WHO ... and we are learning much. It took patience and that patience has paid off. We are very satisfied with what China has given us but we know there?s more.?

?It?s not being hidden, it?s just that they haven?t been able to come to grips with all the different reports,? he said.

These difficulties are expected to be discussed Tuesday when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa join the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations at their summit.

The meeting will seek to devise strategies to jointly fight the disease, which has all but crippled tourism, one of the mainstays of the region?s economy.

No new SARS cases have been reported in Vietnam since April 8. WHO has set a 20-day window ? double the disease?s incubation period ? as the standard for lifting travel advisories and declaring that an outbreak is no longer spreading.

Sixty-three people contracted the virus in Vietnam. But the Hanoi French Hospital was cordoned off on March 11, a move credited with slowing the rate of infection and keeping SARS from spreading beyond its doors.

?The WHO would like to congratulate Vietnam on being the first country in the world to contain SARS,? Pascale Brudon, the WHO representative in Vietnam, said at a news conference in Hanoi.

In contrast to Vietnam, China has been widely criticized for failing to respond earlier to pleas for action to contain the disease, which surfaced in the southern province of Guangdong in November and spread internationally via travellers from Hong Kong.

But officials there have been taking strong action in recent days, sacking Beijing?s mayor and the health minister and closing public schools in the capital.

On Sunday, Beijing closed the city?s theatres, cinemas, Internet cafes and other public entertainment venues to ?stop possible spread of the SARS virus and ensure public health,? the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Hundreds of construction workers were working around-the-clock on a new 1,000-bed isolation camp for SARS victims on Beijing?s northern outskirts.

In Hong Kong, authorities said Monday that another five SARS patients died, while 14 new cases were confirmed, the lowest yet since the government began releasing daily statistics last month. The latest deaths in Hong Kong brought the territory?s toll to 138.

In China, health officials raised the mainland?s death toll to 140 on Monday and said 3,106 people have been confirmed infected ? an increase of 203 cases from the previous day?s figures.

Meanwhile, Asian governments kept up the fight with quarantines and travel restrictions.

Starting Monday in Taiwan ? which has had one SARS death ? foreigners arriving from countries hit hard by SARS, including Canada, will be quarantined for 10 days at government-designated quarters, while returning Taiwan residents will have to stay at home.

In Malaysia, health authorities sealed off a psychiatric hospital they fear may be the site of a SARS outbreak, quarantining its 540 staff and patients.

Fifteen patients and four nurses have reported respiratory problems at the hospital in Kuching, the capital city of eastern Sarawak state on Borneo island, said the Health Ministry?s deputy director-general, Ismail Merican.

?We hope the cases are not SARS-related,? Mr. Ismail told reporters. ?For now, nobody comes in and nobody gets out of the hospital.?

p00p · 04-28-2003, 09:31 AM

Yep, now our friends in Ontario are faced with West Nile.

ElvisManson · 04-28-2003, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by p00p
Yep, now our friends in Ontario are faced with West Nile.

and after that I hear the Great Flood is coming.

Kaz · 04-28-2003, 09:35 AM

fuck it, I'm leaving Toronto for the summer, fucking disease hole

p00p · 04-28-2003, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ElvisManson

and after that I hear the Great Flood is coming.

Where did you hear that?

notjoe · 04-28-2003, 11:38 AM

The worst in ontario was already over when they first reported toronto as a hot spot... the WHO are a bunch of idiots.

LadyMischief · 04-28-2003, 12:54 PM

Oh Nooooooooooocarrier...

bikinihouse · 04-28-2003, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by notjoe
The worst in ontario was already over when they first reported toronto as a hot spot... the WHO are a bunch of idiots.

Very true.

ElvisManson · 04-28-2003, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by p00p

Where did you hear that?

from nocarrier

Martin · 04-28-2003, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kaz
fuck it, I'm leaving Toronto for the summer, fucking disease hole

Only around the Church St and Dundas area dude..

NoCarrier · 04-28-2003, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LadyMischief
Oh Nooooooooooocarrier...

YAWN.

barryf · 04-28-2003, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kaz
fuck it, I'm leaving Toronto for the summer, fucking disease hole

Bye!

funkmaster · 04-28-2003, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by NoCarrier

YAWN.

... come on, after 3 weeks of daily sars reminders you should do better than that ...

NoCarrier · 04-28-2003, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by funkmaster

... come on, after 3 weeks of daily sars reminders you should do better than that ...

That's good news. I'm not hoping for the end of the world you know. I'm on vacation, drinking beers and relaxing. I'll be back next week with the daily updates

Until then, cheers everyone

04-28-2003, 09:30 AM	#1
bogo Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,982	Worst of SARS over in Canada, WHO says Bangkok ? The World Health Organization said Monday that the SARS outbreak is spreading rapidly in China, but that the worst of the epidemic appears to be over in Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore. Vietnam, meanwhile, has become the first country to contain its SARS outbreak, and the WHO lifted all advisories against travel to that country. ?It appears from the reports we have from Hong Kong, from Singapore, from Toronto and from Vietnam that the epidemic has peaked in those countries,? said the WHO?s chief of communicable diseases, David Heymann. Those countries ?are having fewer cases every day and, in some cases no more, such as Vietnam.? Dr. Heymann said. ?So we are hoping and it appears that the outbreak has peaked in those countries.? Dr. Heymann described ?a peak? as the point when an epidemic hits ?a maximum number of cases per day.? ?In most countries they have had one or two peaks and they are on their way down and they will stay down,? he said. The WHO believes that in Canada, transmissions have stopped completely ?and they are at the very bottom of the down slope,? he said. But Dr. Heymann, who is in Bangkok to attend an emergency summit meeting on SARS of Southeast Asian leaders on Tuesday, said the situation is worrisome in China. ?In China, as you know, we are receiving more and more reports of cases and it doesn?t appear it has peaked as far as spread [of the disease is concerned],? Dr. Heymann told reporters. Worldwide at least 332 people have died of severe acute respiratory syndrome, mostly in China and Hong Kong. It has sickened around 5,000 people. Canada has reported 21 SARS deaths among more than 300 suspected or probable cases of the disease. Most of the SARS cases, and all of the deaths, have been in the Toronto area. Until now, countries were obliged to report to the WHO only three infectious diseases ? plague, yellow fever and cholera. Now SARS has also been made mandatory because of China, Dr. Heymann said. Referring to the secrecy that the Chinese government had maintained for so long on the disease, Dr. Heymann said the WHO will be able to tell ?clearly? within two weeks ?what?s going on in China? with the help of several teams now working in that country. Dr. Heymann said experts are aware that SARS is still spreading in Beijing, Shanghai and some other provinces. ?China has made great advances in opening to the WHO ... and we are learning much. It took patience and that patience has paid off. We are very satisfied with what China has given us but we know there?s more.? ?It?s not being hidden, it?s just that they haven?t been able to come to grips with all the different reports,? he said. These difficulties are expected to be discussed Tuesday when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa join the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations at their summit. The meeting will seek to devise strategies to jointly fight the disease, which has all but crippled tourism, one of the mainstays of the region?s economy. No new SARS cases have been reported in Vietnam since April 8. WHO has set a 20-day window ? double the disease?s incubation period ? as the standard for lifting travel advisories and declaring that an outbreak is no longer spreading. Sixty-three people contracted the virus in Vietnam. But the Hanoi French Hospital was cordoned off on March 11, a move credited with slowing the rate of infection and keeping SARS from spreading beyond its doors. ?The WHO would like to congratulate Vietnam on being the first country in the world to contain SARS,? Pascale Brudon, the WHO representative in Vietnam, said at a news conference in Hanoi. In contrast to Vietnam, China has been widely criticized for failing to respond earlier to pleas for action to contain the disease, which surfaced in the southern province of Guangdong in November and spread internationally via travellers from Hong Kong. But officials there have been taking strong action in recent days, sacking Beijing?s mayor and the health minister and closing public schools in the capital. On Sunday, Beijing closed the city?s theatres, cinemas, Internet cafes and other public entertainment venues to ?stop possible spread of the SARS virus and ensure public health,? the official Xinhua news agency reported. Hundreds of construction workers were working around-the-clock on a new 1,000-bed isolation camp for SARS victims on Beijing?s northern outskirts. In Hong Kong, authorities said Monday that another five SARS patients died, while 14 new cases were confirmed, the lowest yet since the government began releasing daily statistics last month. The latest deaths in Hong Kong brought the territory?s toll to 138. In China, health officials raised the mainland?s death toll to 140 on Monday and said 3,106 people have been confirmed infected ? an increase of 203 cases from the previous day?s figures. Meanwhile, Asian governments kept up the fight with quarantines and travel restrictions. Starting Monday in Taiwan ? which has had one SARS death ? foreigners arriving from countries hit hard by SARS, including Canada, will be quarantined for 10 days at government-designated quarters, while returning Taiwan residents will have to stay at home. In Malaysia, health authorities sealed off a psychiatric hospital they fear may be the site of a SARS outbreak, quarantining its 540 staff and patients. Fifteen patients and four nurses have reported respiratory problems at the hospital in Kuching, the capital city of eastern Sarawak state on Borneo island, said the Health Ministry?s deputy director-general, Ismail Merican. ?We hope the cases are not SARS-related,? Mr. Ismail told reporters. ?For now, nobody comes in and nobody gets out of the hospital.?

04-28-2003, 09:31 AM	#2
p00p Confirmed User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: CanaDUH Posts: 5,125	Yep, now our friends in Ontario are faced with West Nile. __________________ ICQ: 316365783 <a href="http://www.hostultra.com/~p00p" target="_blank">TEST</a>

04-28-2003, 09:35 AM	#4
Kaz Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 199	fuck it, I'm leaving Toronto for the summer, fucking disease hole __________________

04-28-2003, 12:54 PM	#7
LadyMischief Orgasms N Such! Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Oakville, Ontario Posts: 18,135	Oh Nooooooooooocarrier... __________________ ICQ 3522039 Content Manager - orgasm.com [email protected]

04-28-2003, 11:38 AM	#6
notjoe Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: May 2002 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 5,599	The worst in ontario was already over when they first reported toronto as a hot spot... the WHO are a bunch of idiots.