[Squawk 8888]

Actually this advisory shows just how out of touch the UN is. The SARS outbreak peaked three weeks ago and has been waning ever since but WHO waited until yesterday to issue the advisory. The truth is that every case here (130 probable in a population of 5 million) has been linked to the hospitals so unless you visit one you're safe. The CDC said that travel to Toronto is safe and that the response to the outbreak has been good.

[DannyTN]

When there was a total of 150 cases in the world, they kept assuring us that it was under control. But now we know it wasn't. What makes you so sure that it's under control in Toronto?

I say let WHO err on the conservative side. So Toronto will suffer a little economic impact as people don't travel there for 2 weeks. It's better than letting it drag on and on and on, shutting travel down for months and spreading it to other cities.

At this point they aren't even sure what causes it. They couldn't find the coronovirus in 40% of the patients that showed the symptons.

[-YYZ-]

I live about an hour from downtown Toronto. I plan to go there Friday evening to meet a friend and quaff a few and have some supper at a brew pub. I have approximately zero concern about catching SARS while there. While the risk is not zero, it appears to be under control.

[DannyTN]

"The SARS outbreak peaked three weeks ago and has been waning ever since "

Maybe in Toronto, but worldwide this thing is still growing. Over 500 new cases reported in the last 2 days alone. That's not peaked.

Toronto's mayor is doing the absolute worst thing. He is panicking over the potential economic impact and any community that does that and attempts to suppress the illness statistics is going to make the spread that much worse.

By the way CDC upgraded it's deathrate to 6% overall with death rates of up to 10% or more in some countries.