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Toronto Off World Health Organization's SARS Watch List

Aired July 02, 2003 - 15:31   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Fantastic news for folks north of the U.S. border today. World Health Officials say Canada's largest city has contained the SARS outbreak. No new cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome have shown up in Toronto in nearly three weeks. So it's taken the city off its list of SARS-affected areas.
Peter Murphy of Canada's CTV joins us live from Toronto with more. Peter, what can you tell us?

PETER MURPHY, CTV CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well it is nice that Toronto's got taken off the list, but everybody remembers that they did that a about month and a half ago, as well. So, there's no celebrating here in Toronto, there is a giant sigh of relief, though. the city heaved that sigh of relief this morning, we were expecting it.

But there still remains 21 people in hospital with SARS. So while the SARS outbreak may be contained, people still do have SARS. Thirty-nine people died, of course, in Toronto during the four-months of the outbreak; 11 people who are in hospital remain in critical condition. So we still may see some more deaths.

During the four-months of the outbreak, 400 people came down with SARS. Most of those, of course, recovered. Most of those were elderly people. But the city suffered a giant hit when the World Health Organization put a travel advisory on Toronto in April after there were a lot of SARS cases here. That cost the city about $2 billion in lost business, tourism, conventions.

Millions of Americans come up to Toronto on holiday here. Of course when the travel advisory was put on, everybody sort of panicked and stayed away and that cost $2 billion to the city, $1 billion just in health care costs alone.

So, it's been a really tough go. Health care workers, though, are not letting down their guard like they did about a month and a half ago. they're remaining very vigilant. Anybody that comes down with a fever or that comes down with a respiratory problem is assumed to have SARS, they're put in isolation.

They want to beat this thing. So there are still 21 people. They don't figure that SARS will be eliminated in Toronto until the end of the summer. PHILLIPS: Peter, Toronto is such a beautiful place. I've been there a number of times. How do folks there plan to get people to come back and to visit and make up for all the millions of dollars you said Toronto has lost?

MURPHY: Well I think that WHO taking Toronto off the SARS -- it's going to take some time. That's going to help.

The Stones are going to have a huge concert at the end of July and it's going to be broadcast all over the world. There will be several hundred thousand people. Lots of Americans coming up for it. They're all ready sold 300,000 tickets. So that going to send a pretty giant message. As well, they'll spend $100 million, maybe more just in the United States in advertising telling Americans that it is safe to come up here.

The terrible thing about it, Kyra, at the height of this outbreak when people were dying of SARS, you wouldn't have never have known there was a problem in Toronto. It was totally contained within the hospital. The only people when got the disease, and there were a couple Americans who got it here was because they went into a hospital setting and came in contact with the disease that way.

PHILLIPS: Peter Murphy Of Canada's CTV, live from Toronto. Thanks, Peter.

MURPHY: You're welcome.

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 July 2, 2003 - 15:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Fantastic news for folks north of the U.S. border today. World Health Officials say Canada's largest city has contained the SARS outbreak. No new cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome have shown up in Toronto in nearly three weeks. So it's taken the city off its list of SARS-affected areas.
Peter Murphy of Canada's CTV joins us live from Toronto with more. Peter, what can you tell us?

PETER MURPHY, CTV CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well it is nice that Toronto's got taken off the list, but everybody remembers that they did that a about month and a half ago, as well. So, there's no celebrating here in Toronto, there is a giant sigh of relief, though. the city heaved that sigh of relief this morning, we were expecting it.

But there still remains 21 people in hospital with SARS. So while the SARS outbreak may be contained, people still do have SARS. Thirty-nine people died, of course, in Toronto during the four-months of the outbreak; 11 people who are in hospital remain in critical condition. So we still may see some more deaths.

During the four-months of the outbreak, 400 people came down with SARS. Most of those, of course, recovered. Most of those were elderly people. But the city suffered a giant hit when the World Health Organization put a travel advisory on Toronto in April after there were a lot of SARS cases here. That cost the city about $2 billion in lost business, tourism, conventions.

Millions of Americans come up to Toronto on holiday here. Of course when the travel advisory was put on, everybody sort of panicked and stayed away and that cost $2 billion to the city, $1 billion just in health care costs alone.

So, it's been a really tough go. Health care workers, though, are not letting down their guard like they did about a month and a half ago. they're remaining very vigilant. Anybody that comes down with a fever or that comes down with a respiratory problem is assumed to have SARS, they're put in isolation.

They want to beat this thing. So there are still 21 people. They don't figure that SARS will be eliminated in Toronto until the end of the summer. PHILLIPS: Peter, Toronto is such a beautiful place. I've been there a number of times. How do folks there plan to get people to come back and to visit and make up for all the millions of dollars you said Toronto has lost?

MURPHY: Well I think that WHO taking Toronto off the SARS -- it's going to take some time. That's going to help.

The Stones are going to have a huge concert at the end of July and it's going to be broadcast all over the world. There will be several hundred thousand people. Lots of Americans coming up for it. They're all ready sold 300,000 tickets. So that going to send a pretty giant message. As well, they'll spend $100 million, maybe more just in the United States in advertising telling Americans that it is safe to come up here.

The terrible thing about it, Kyra, at the height of this outbreak when people were dying of SARS, you wouldn't have never have known there was a problem in Toronto. It was totally contained within the hospital. The only people when got the disease, and there were a couple Americans who got it here was because they went into a hospital setting and came in contact with the disease that way.

PHILLIPS: Peter Murphy Of Canada's CTV, live from Toronto. Thanks, Peter.

MURPHY: You're welcome.

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