SARS SHUTS TORONTO SCHOOL, 6,400 IN QUARANTINE (Nurses' Calls Not Heeded!!!!!)

WashingtonPost ^ | May 28, 2003 | Rajiv Sekhri

[travelnurse]

SARS Shuts Toronto School, 6,400 in Quarantine Reuters Wednesday, May 28, 2003; 5:24 PM By Rajiv Sekhri TORONTO (Reuters) - Concern about SARS shut down a Toronto-area high school on Wednesday, sending staff and students into quarantine and raising fears the virus may have spread from hospitals to the broader community.

[MatthewViti]

pride cometh before the fall

[IYAAYAS]

THERE IS NO SARS IN TORONTO, I DEMAND ALL AMERICANS COME TO BUY THINGS!!!

[per loin]

The risk of getting SARS in this kind of setting (a school) is very low,

Based on what evidence?

[Beck_isright]

Do, dooo, dooo, dooooooddoooooo,
Don't worry,
dodododododooooo
be happy
dodododoooooooooooooo

Don't worry, be happy......

[TBall]

SARS, isn't that like a really bad cold?

[travelnurse]

The risk of getting SARS in this kind of setting (a school) is very low,

---

Liar, Liar, pants on fire... LOL

[Bluewave]

They Said: "The risk of getting SARS in this kind of setting (a school) is very low"

You Said: "Based on what evidence?"

Interesting how the fingers are pointing at each other. The problem as I see it, is that the authorities don't know squat about SARS.

There are no known limits on incubation. The recent cases appear to have up to a 40 day incubation period from likely exposure to symptoms.

The route of exposure is unknown. The 96 year old man was not exposed in any conventional "close contact" way. He reportedly died May 1, 03, and people were reported sick on May 26th.

There is disagreement as to what constitutes SARS and the tests for the disease are not definitive. The definition of SARS by the WHO appears to be much too strict to have useful clinical application.

I suspect that we are in for a lot of surprises during the next few months.

[hole_n_one]

Reuters
Hindustan Times
Yahoo

SARS Shuts Toronto School, 6,400 in Quarantine
Wed May 28, 2003 12:50 PM ET
By Rajiv Sekhri

TORONTO (Reuters) - Concern about SARS shut down a Toronto-area high school on Wednesday, sending staff and students into quarantine and raising fears the virus may have spread from hospitals to the broader community.

More than 6,400 people, including 2,000 from the school, are now in quarantine in greater Toronto after Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome resurfaced six days ago.

Before then, Toronto had thought it had beaten the disease -- no new cases were reported from mid-April to mid-May.

Health officials said a student at the school, located just north of Toronto, appeared to have symptoms of SARS, and that prompted the quarantine call. One of the student's parents worked at Toronto's North York General Hospital, epicenter of the latest outbreak.

"The risk of getting SARS in this kind of setting (a school) is very low," said Dr. Murray McQuigge, a physician in the region where the high school is located.

"We are not aware of any other student in this school who is symptomatic right now."

The Toronto area is the only place outside Asia where people have died of SARS. There have been 27 deaths around Toronto and there are 12 probable cases now.

Doctors say six patients are in critical condition and they are monitoring about 30 more people for infection.

"In retrospect, we think we let our guard down too early," said Dr. Donald Low, chief of microbiology at Mount Sinai Hospital, one of the leaders in Toronto's fight against SARS.

Doctors think the virus lingered in hospital wards for weeks and infected nurses, patients and visitors after the authorities eased rules on wearing masks and gloves.

Nurses this week said they had noticed patients with SARS-like symptoms after the rules were relaxed, but doctors and hospital administrators did not listen.

"Unfortunately, they were not taken seriously," Doris Grinspun, executive director of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, told Reuters, describing it as "ridiculous" that no one paid attention.

"This is not the first time in the history of this profession in this country or another when nurses speak with expertise and are not listened to. This has to stop."

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said Toronto's problem was under control.

"This is not a problem that is serious ... It is not dangerous to travel to Toronto at all," Chretien told a news conference in Athens, Greece, after a summit between Canada and the European Union.

His aides said Chretien had not been aware of the possible outbreak in the school when he made his comments.

The World Health Organization this week put Toronto back on its list of SARS-affected areas after 12 days off that hook. But the U.N. agency stopped short of recommending that travelers avoid Toronto.

Worldwide, SARS has killed nearly 750 people and infected more than 8,200. The virus, which originated in China's Guangdong province, produces symptoms that include a high fever, dry cough and difficulty in breathing.

[travelnurse]

If you go to the WP, the article says nurses had noticed patients with SARS-like symptoms, but doctors and administrators DID NOT LISTEN!!

Good grief ~~ What do these people need to have happen before they wake up!?!?

[Dog Gone]

"We will welcome SARS with bullets and shoes."

"No I am not scared, and neither should you be!"

"Be assured. Toronto is safe, protected. There are no SARS cases within 100 miles."

[travelnurse]

Thanks for posting the entire article.

[travelnurse]

The problem as I see it, is that the authorities don't know squat about SARS

---

Basic infection control guidelines will prevent the spread of any infectious/contagious disease which these people are not doing.

[hole_n_one]

You're welcome.

As long as it does not originate from the Wash. Post or the L.A. Times, feel free to post the entire text, regardless of what you will continually see others do here (FR) in that some will simply provide an experpt of an article from a paper in Podunk, NJ. rather than the full, complete text.

[Grig]

Toronto is now so short on health care workers that they have what is called a 'working quarantine'. Health care workers who SHOULD be in quarentine are allowed to come to work as long as they keep a face mask on and don't use public transit. No kidding.

[Bluewave]

I respectfully disagree. I really hate to disagree, even respectfully with a nurse, but, until the route of transmission of the disease is well known and understood, infection control techniques are not going to be effective.

It is beginning to appear that masks and gowns are minimum requirements. As you know, masks and gowns are very difficult to use effectively and the bagging is problematic. There are also many questions as to where this virus lurks.

[Grig]

"The problem as I see it, is that the authorities don't know squat about SARS"

Yup, I called several hotines and government health offices trying to find out if anyone has even tried to find out if SARS can be spread by mosquitoes or not. They were all like a deer caught in the headlights and have never even considered the question before.

[Prince Charles]

A 'Superspreader' of SARS How One Woman Touched Off Beijing Outbreak

Yu said the hospital waited three days to transfer her from a room she shared with other patients to her own room in the respiratory ward. Chen credited a young doctor who searched for information about the new illness on the Internet.

At least one Chinese doctor was on the ball.

[per loin]

I'd not be surprised to see them solve this by requiring all statements by nurses to the press be forbidden without a note from a doctor.

[vikingchick]

ping