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SARS Outbreak

Aired May 29, 2003 - 14:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The SARS outbreak in Toronto appears to be picking up momentum; 5,000 people in that city have been told to quarantine themselves following a new outbreak of this disease. One area high school closed after a student became ill. Two more people have died. And one of the doctors leading efforts to control SARS in Canada says the number of probable cases will rise as health officials broaden the definition of severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Joining us in Toronto is CTV correspondent Steve Chou with more on all this.

Steve, why don't we start off with this change of definition. Why the change in definition of the disease, and how has that impacted the numbers in Toronto?

STEVE CHOU, CTV REPORTER: Well, Miles, for the longest time, health officials in Toronto were using health Canada's definition of what exactly is a probable case of SARS. What they were using, though, was a definition that required more symptoms. And the World Health Organization, on the other hand, was using a much wider definition. And so to bring Canada's definition in line with those of the rest of the world, they decided today to change that. What that means, of course, is there are currently 12 active cases of suspected SARS here in Toronto. That likely will double by today.

O'BRIEN: Just by the change of definition? And are health officials there in Ontario a little bit upset about that change of -- changing the rules mid course, if you will?

CHOU: Well, there was a lot of speculation that Toronto and perhaps Canada was downplaying the actual reality of how bad this outbreak was, because they were using, of course, a narrower definition. The controversy came out yesterday, and now they've made the switch, and many doctors believe it is a better one, because it paints a more accurate picture.

Saying that, however, health officials stress that the danger to the public is still very small. They say that the virus is still very much contained to the hospital. This, even though there are about 1,700 students at one school quarantined after a grade 11 student came down with symptoms of SARS. This also after one liquor -- a worker in a liquor store came down with SARS. But every single case has been traced back to a hospital where SARS is present, which is a very important point to make.

O'BRIEN: We're talking as if Toronto, specifically, had turned the corner on SARS. That evidently is not the case. What is the feeling there right now? Is there kind of a bad sense of deja vu that people are going through, or is there some outright fear and concern?

CHOU: Well, there is a very bad sense of deja vu. Health officials were hoping that they had actually had won the battle against SARS. This, of course, is not the case. It underlines how difficult it is to actually get rid of the virus. What they expected to happen did not happen, and now they're trying to put out spot fires all around Toronto. They hopefully -- they're hoping that the containment measures they're putting in place will actually work.

O'BRIEN: OK. And what about the impact on business then? Have you been able to assess that? I mean, there's a sense that tourism is diminished. But it's difficult to get a handle on those numbers in realtime, isn't it?

CHOU: That's right, Miles.

People are still trying to tally those numbers up. What is very clear at this point is we're heading into the summer season where typically hundreds of thousands of visitors from -- mainly Americans, come up to Toronto to enjoy the summer. This likely will not be happening. Shows here in town have been hurting, as well as boat operators, who take people out on cruises. Definitely the impact will be very severe. Many hotel workers, for example, have been laid off, and have been told not to come back for the rest of the summer.

People are talking about compensation packages to help out these workers. There is some coming, but at this point, it's still looking like a very grim picture.

O'BRIEN: Steve, you're not wearing a mask. Are many people wearing masks walking the streets of Toronto?

CHOU: No, not at all, Miles. And that's one thing that health officials want to be clear, that the fear out here that the virus will be caught when you're traveling on the street is very low, and the actual risk is very low. What is very clear is the virus is still contained to the hospital. And the danger is, if you visit a hospital, then you have to be very careful not to catch it.

O'BRIEN: Steve Chou, with CTV, joining us from Toronto. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Talk to you later.

CHOU: Thanks, Miles.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired May 29, 2003 - 14:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The SARS outbreak in Toronto appears to be picking up momentum; 5,000 people in that city have been told to quarantine themselves following a new outbreak of this disease. One area high school closed after a student became ill. Two more people have died. And one of the doctors leading efforts to control SARS in Canada says the number of probable cases will rise as health officials broaden the definition of severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Joining us in Toronto is CTV correspondent Steve Chou with more on all this.

Steve, why don't we start off with this change of definition. Why the change in definition of the disease, and how has that impacted the numbers in Toronto?

STEVE CHOU, CTV REPORTER: Well, Miles, for the longest time, health officials in Toronto were using health Canada's definition of what exactly is a probable case of SARS. What they were using, though, was a definition that required more symptoms. And the World Health Organization, on the other hand, was using a much wider definition. And so to bring Canada's definition in line with those of the rest of the world, they decided today to change that. What that means, of course, is there are currently 12 active cases of suspected SARS here in Toronto. That likely will double by today.

O'BRIEN: Just by the change of definition? And are health officials there in Ontario a little bit upset about that change of -- changing the rules mid course, if you will?

CHOU: Well, there was a lot of speculation that Toronto and perhaps Canada was downplaying the actual reality of how bad this outbreak was, because they were using, of course, a narrower definition. The controversy came out yesterday, and now they've made the switch, and many doctors believe it is a better one, because it paints a more accurate picture.

Saying that, however, health officials stress that the danger to the public is still very small. They say that the virus is still very much contained to the hospital. This, even though there are about 1,700 students at one school quarantined after a grade 11 student came down with symptoms of SARS. This also after one liquor -- a worker in a liquor store came down with SARS. But every single case has been traced back to a hospital where SARS is present, which is a very important point to make.

O'BRIEN: We're talking as if Toronto, specifically, had turned the corner on SARS. That evidently is not the case. What is the feeling there right now? Is there kind of a bad sense of deja vu that people are going through, or is there some outright fear and concern?

CHOU: Well, there is a very bad sense of deja vu. Health officials were hoping that they had actually had won the battle against SARS. This, of course, is not the case. It underlines how difficult it is to actually get rid of the virus. What they expected to happen did not happen, and now they're trying to put out spot fires all around Toronto. They hopefully -- they're hoping that the containment measures they're putting in place will actually work.

O'BRIEN: OK. And what about the impact on business then? Have you been able to assess that? I mean, there's a sense that tourism is diminished. But it's difficult to get a handle on those numbers in realtime, isn't it?

CHOU: That's right, Miles.

People are still trying to tally those numbers up. What is very clear at this point is we're heading into the summer season where typically hundreds of thousands of visitors from -- mainly Americans, come up to Toronto to enjoy the summer. This likely will not be happening. Shows here in town have been hurting, as well as boat operators, who take people out on cruises. Definitely the impact will be very severe. Many hotel workers, for example, have been laid off, and have been told not to come back for the rest of the summer.

People are talking about compensation packages to help out these workers. There is some coming, but at this point, it's still looking like a very grim picture.

O'BRIEN: Steve, you're not wearing a mask. Are many people wearing masks walking the streets of Toronto?

CHOU: No, not at all, Miles. And that's one thing that health officials want to be clear, that the fear out here that the virus will be caught when you're traveling on the street is very low, and the actual risk is very low. What is very clear is the virus is still contained to the hospital. And the danger is, if you visit a hospital, then you have to be very careful not to catch it.

O'BRIEN: Steve Chou, with CTV, joining us from Toronto. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Talk to you later.

CHOU: Thanks, Miles.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com