WHO Lifts Toronto SARS Travel Advisory
April 29, 2003 -- One week after it warned travelers to avoid Toronto due to the threat of SARS, the World Health Organization (WHO) lifted its travel advisory for Canada's largest city. The city of Toronto had protested the travel advisory from the start and health officials from the region presented their case to the WHO today in Geneva.
WHO director-general Gro Harlem Brundtland says the decision to lift the embargo was made based on three changes in the SARS outbreak that occurred in the last week: The magnitude of probably SARS cases decreased, 20 days passed since the last cases of SARS transmission within the community occurred, and no new cases of SARS being exported from Toronto have been reported.
The decision will take effect tomorrow, but it does not affect Toronto's status as an "affected area" for SARS. Yesterday, the WHO removed Vietnam from its list of areas affected by SARS after no new cases were reported over 20 days, which made it the first country to successfully contain the disease.
WHO officials say travel advisories are reviewed on a daily basis based on the risk to international public health.
The organization issued its first ever travel warning on April 2, advising travelers to avoid Hong Kong and neighboring Guangdong province in mainland China due to the threat of SARS. On April 23, WHO added Toronto, Beijing, and the Shanxi province of China to its SARS travel advisory.
The CDC also has travel advisories in effect for mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The agency today removed Hanoi, Vietnam from this list in light of the WHO's decision and downgraded its level of traveler's notification to a "travel alert."
A travel alert doesn't advise against travel to a specific region but alerts travelers about an area of health concern and advises them to take specific precautions.
CDC officials never issued a travel advisory for Toronto, but included the city on its travel alert list as of April 22. The travel alert recommends that visitors to Toronto avoid areas where SARS is known to have spread, such as hospitals treating SARS patients.
Worldwide, a total of 5,462 probable SARS cases have been reported to the WHO, including 353 deaths. Of the 226 new SARS cases reported today, 202 were from China, of which 152 were in the capital city of Beijing.
WHO officials are concerned about the continued spread of SARS outside Beijing. Probable SARS cases have now been reported in 21 of China's 31 provinces.
The CDC is currently investigating 272 suspected SARS cases, including 52 that meet the WHO's definition of probable SARS cases.
WHO director-general Gro Harlem Brundtland says the decision to lift the embargo was made based on three changes in the SARS outbreak that occurred in the last week: The magnitude of probably SARS cases decreased, 20 days passed since the last cases of SARS transmission within the community occurred, and no new cases of SARS being exported from Toronto have been reported.
The decision will take effect tomorrow, but it does not affect Toronto's status as an "affected area" for SARS. Yesterday, the WHO removed Vietnam from its list of areas affected by SARS after no new cases were reported over 20 days, which made it the first country to successfully contain the disease.
WHO officials say travel advisories are reviewed on a daily basis based on the risk to international public health.
The organization issued its first ever travel warning on April 2, advising travelers to avoid Hong Kong and neighboring Guangdong province in mainland China due to the threat of SARS. On April 23, WHO added Toronto, Beijing, and the Shanxi province of China to its SARS travel advisory.
The CDC also has travel advisories in effect for mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The agency today removed Hanoi, Vietnam from this list in light of the WHO's decision and downgraded its level of traveler's notification to a "travel alert."
A travel alert doesn't advise against travel to a specific region but alerts travelers about an area of health concern and advises them to take specific precautions.
CDC officials never issued a travel advisory for Toronto, but included the city on its travel alert list as of April 22. The travel alert recommends that visitors to Toronto avoid areas where SARS is known to have spread, such as hospitals treating SARS patients.
Worldwide, a total of 5,462 probable SARS cases have been reported to the WHO, including 353 deaths. Of the 226 new SARS cases reported today, 202 were from China, of which 152 were in the capital city of Beijing.
WHO officials are concerned about the continued spread of SARS outside Beijing. Probable SARS cases have now been reported in 21 of China's 31 provinces.
The CDC is currently investigating 272 suspected SARS cases, including 52 that meet the WHO's definition of probable SARS cases.
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