The Canadian government will gather in the city to express support for the residents; China quarantines 4,000 people; 13 more dead in Asia * The health ministers of the countries of the East Asian Organization, as well as China, Japan and Hong Kong gathered to discuss the spread of the virus
Haim Shadami, Zohar Blumenkranz, Haaretz, and the agencies
Beijing, yesterday. Health officials denied intentions to declare military rule in the city
Three more people died last night (Friday) in Toronto, Canada's largest city, from the atypical SARS pneumonia. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Cartain said last night that the World Health Organization (WHO) was wrong when it warned tourists against coming to Toronto because of the disease. "We believe that Toronto is a safe city for visitors," Curtain said.
Curtain decided to convene the Canadian government in Toronto next week to express solidarity with its residents. He promised to stay at a hotel in the city and "sleep peacefully." Canada is the only place in the world outside of Asia where SARS patients have died. Canada has so far recorded 330 cases of infection and 18 deaths from SARS, most of them in Toronto, which has a large population of Chinese.
In Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, the health ministers of the ten countries of the East Asian Organization gathered, together with the health ministers of China, Japan and Hong Kong to discuss the formulation of a joint policy to deal with the SARS disease.
A representative from Canada participated in the discussions as an observer. The gathering in Kuala Lumpur is a preliminary discussion for the summit conference of the leaders of the Organization of East Asian Nations that will take place on Tuesday, where the leaders will continue to discuss dealing with the disease. The summit will be in Bangkok, Thailand and the Prime Minister of China will also participate in it.
Hong Kong reported five more deaths this morning as a result of the virus. Another person died from Sars in Singapore, bringing the number of deaths from the disease there to eighteen. In Toronto, Canada, two more Sars patients died last night and the number of deaths from the disease reached eighteen in Canada as well. The number of patients in Canada - about three hundred and thirty, most of them in Ontario.
China reported seven more deaths from Sars yesterday, and another 180 people infected with the virus. More than half of the new cases occurred in Beijing. In China, 122 deaths from Sars have been reported so far, out of 264 cases in the world, and the number of patients has reached 2,753 people. which are more than half of the 4,600 infection cases in the world. In Hong Kong, six new deaths were reported yesterday, and 22 people infected with the virus. The Philippines confirmed yesterday that there were two first deaths from the SARS disease in the country. The Minister of Health said that the two are a nurse working in Toronto, who came to visit her home in the Philippines together with her father.
A health official in Beijing reported yesterday that 4,000 people "who were in intimate contact with people suspected of having the atypical pneumonia" were quarantined at home. The director general of the Chinese Ministry of Health did not say how long the quarantine would last.
Yesterday, a hospital was quarantined, where about 1,200 people are. The hospital is not one of those dedicated to the treatment of Sars patients, but among its staff members at least 60 definite or suspected cases of Sars patients were recorded. This morning, the authorities closed another hospital in the city, as part of the government's effort to control the epidemic. Visitors to Ditan Hospital, which specializes in infectious diseases, were banned from entering. In Taiwan, 480 employees of a public hospital in the capital, Taipei, were quarantined in a military camp after the hospital where they worked was also isolated and was unable to accommodate them. Some of the workers were outraged by the isolation conditions imposed on them and hung protest banners on the windows of the medical institution.
In Taiwan, it was reported on Tuesday that the number of cases of SARS had risen to 41 and that the country would stop processing visa applications from the cities and provinces in China most severely affected by the disease.
Suspicion: 6 people contracted SARS in the USA
In the USA, six more people were found as suspected of having contracted the disease. So far, 245 people have arrived at the hospitals in the USA, suspected of having contracted the disease, but only 39 of them were defined as "possible" cases of Sars. All have recently visited Asia or Toronto.
Singapore reported two more deaths from Sars on Tuesday - a total of 19 people have died so far. Parliament in Singapore convened on Tuesday to discuss changing the health laws, so that they would allow fines or arrest without trial anyone who violates the quarantine instructions imposed on some areas.
In Saudi Arabia, it was reported that a 13-year-old boy died yesterday, and the symptoms that were discovered in him point to the possibility that this may be the first case of SARS. In Malaysia, a new case was reported, apparently of SARS - a transport pilot who recently returned from Hong Kong. In New Zealand, a person was isolated in a hospital, and it is possible that this is the first SARS case in the country. Bulgaria reported that a person suffering from symptoms similar to those of SARS was hospitalized in Sofia. This is apparently the first case in the country.
An Israeli flight attendant was hospitalized with suspected SARS
An El Al flight attendant, about 40 years old, was hospitalized yesterday in isolation at Assaf Harofeh Hospital after returning on a flight from Hong Kong and reporting shortness of breath. Initial tests show that her condition is normal, but the Ministry of Health decided to hospitalize her for precautionary reasons. There were 53 passengers and crew on the flight from Hong Kong. A spokesman for "El-Al" said that all the company's flights will continue to operate as a dispatcher.
The condition of the Israeli hospitalized in Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva on suspicion of Sars had a certain benefit yesterday. However, tests did not completely rule out the possibility that he is sick with the virus, and he was released today into isolation at home. The man, 77 years old, recently returned from China and reported to Soroka while suffering from fever, cough and shortness of breath.
A special expert following the SARS case
https://www.hayadan.org.il/BuildaGate4/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~~~512866213~~~124&SiteName=hayadan
