Sars alarm as Toronto 'no-go'

by BEEZY MARSH, Daily Mail

Panic over the deadly Sars virus escalated last night.

Toronto became the first Western city declared a no-go zone in an unprecedented global health warning.

But while Britons have been advised not to go there, the Government here is doing nothing to screen travellers arriving from the Canadian city - or any other affected area.

Up to 13,500 passengers fly in to Heathrow every week on 45 flights from Canada's largest city, which is home to 2.5 million people.

Canada has 324 probable or suspected cases of Sars, most of them in Toronto where 15 have died.

Yesterday the city joined the Chinese capital Beijing and the Shanxi province on the World Health Organisation list of Sars-hit countries which are off- limits to travellers.

Another 3,000 people arrive at Heathrow every week on flights from Beijing, which has a population of 11 million.

The WHO move follows similar health warnings over Hong Kong and the Guangdong region of China, which are stricken with cases of the pneumonia virus.

Fears over complacency

There are fears that Britain is vulnerable to outbreaks of the disease from those flying in from high-risk areas following haphazard checks at airports there.

Complacency could hasten the spread of the virus, which has infected 4,200 worldwide through air travel and claimed 251 lives, it is feared.

WHO experts are advising port health authorities in Sars-affected countries to carry out screening - but the quality may vary dramatically.

There are fears that cases of Sars, which has a ten-day incubation time, could easily go undetected.

In Japan, which is Sars-free, thermal imaging equipment is being installed to screen passengers for tell-tale temperature changes.

There are no plans to introduce such checks on people arriving in Britain.

Government Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Liam Donaldson stopped short of issuing specific screening or quarantine orders for travellers flying in from high-risk Sars zones.

And the Department of Health, which yesterday followed the WHO in declaring Toronto and parts of Asia "no-go" areas for travellers, said: "We are simply following WHO advice on screening passengers.

"Port health authorities in Sars-affected areas should be checking for passengers with coughs, wheezes and temperatures."

WHO experts have advised people to defer travel to affected areas for three weeks - double the maximum incubation period for Sars.

Airports in countries hit by the virus have been ordered to step up screening, but still most passengers pass through untested.

In Canada the government has ordered more screening at Toronto airport but it is nowhere near blanket testing. And passengers arriving at Heathrow from Toronto last night said there was no apparent concern among officials about Sars at the Canadian airport, although some travellers were wearing masks.

Shock at travel ban

The WHO travel ban to Toronto was greeted with fury by the city's mayor Mel Lastman. "I am shocked," he said. "The medical evidence before us does not support this advisory.

"I think they are doing this city and this country a disservice. I want them here tomorrow. I want them to investigate Toronto."

Six probable cases of the crippling lung illness, whose symptoms include high fever, a dry cough and difficulty in breathing, have emerged in Britain.

Doctors are also investigating the death of a 33-year-old man from Pontypridd, South Wales, who died at home after returning from a trip to Thailand.

Companies including Lloyds TSB, NatWest and the Royal Bank of Scotland have begun ordering executives returning from high-risk areas to quarantine themselves at home for ten days.

But Sir Liam said the Government was following the "correct approach at the present time".

"Expert advice does not recommend mass quarantining of travellers returning from the Far East and Canada," he said. "Everything that needs to be done in this country is being done and the risk of acquiring the infection in the United Kingdom at the present time is very low."

Call to protect public

Tory health spokesman Dr Liam Fox said not enough was being done to protect the public.

The MP, who recently returned from Australia via Singapore, said authorities there had warned against coming into contact with large groups of people because of the danger of spreading Sars.

He said: "The Government is treating this outbreak as something that happens in the Far East, rather than a deadly outbreak that might already be on our doorstep."

The incurable virus which causes Sars was thought to be a mutated form of the coronavirus which causes common colds, and may have "jumped" from animals to humans in China.

But scientists say some sufferers who have Sars do not have the mutated coronavirus, making the quest for a cure even harder.

The WHO, which last month declared Sars a global emergency, has tracked the spread of the disease through air travel.

Beijing is the hardest hit place in China, where Sars is believed to have originated. China has the world's highest death toll from the virus with 106 fatalities.

Authorities there announced the closure of all the capital's schools for two weeks in an attempt to stop Sars from spreading to 1.7 million schoolchildren.

Officials have already said they would quarantine hotels, hospitals or other buildings suspected of infection and would take "compulsory measures" against anyone not co-operating.

Hong Kong, which also reported more deaths and infections, announced a £1bn package to help businesses reeling from the impact of the disease. The city has now had 105 Sars deaths.

Police in Australia have been given new powers to round up and quarantine suspected Sars victims.

In Singapore, where there have been 189 infections and up to 17 deaths, alarm was growing over an outbreak among vendors at its largest vegetable market.

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