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This Public
Announcement is being issued to alert U.S. citizens to the
declaration of a Provincial health emergency in Ontario, Canada.
This Announcement expires on June 26, 2003.
On March 26, the
Government of Ontario declared Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS) to be a provincial emergency. The declaration follows the
deaths of three individuals from SARS and the apparent
manifestations of the disease in more than 50 individuals across
the province. Canada is attempting to limit the spread of the
outbreak by screening all passengers at airports for SARS
symptoms. Health Canada sent staff to Pearson and Vancouver
International Airports to help monitor passengers arriving on
direct flights from affected areas for flu-like symptoms and to
assist those who appear to be ill. Two major hospitals have been
closed or restricted in the past 24-48 hours; other hospitals
may also be affected. Ontario hospitals are operating under
severe measures such as limiting access,restricting patient
transfers between hospitals and requesting that those at risk of
developing SARS place themselves under voluntary quarantine in
their homes.
Detailed
information on SARS is available from the Centers for Disease
Control, http://www.cdc.gov and the World Health Organization
http://www.who.int. A Fact Sheet for American citizens traveling
abroad based on information from those websites is also
available at the website of the Department of State’s Bureau
of Consular Affairs, http://travel.state.gov. Information from
Health Canada is available at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca. |
