Cricket

I'm not planning a trip to Toronto, but I was just curious how Canadians are feeling about the warning issued by the World Health Organization re: travel to Toronto. What's it like there right now, and do you, like most Canadians I've seen on TV, think the advisory is highly unnecessary?

Just wondering...

Thanks

jor

Amazing how the world has finally focused on Canada! IMHO Canada is a beautiful country with great people. Would I travel to Toronto? I prefer British Columbia.

nkh

I am a Torontonian and my opinion seems similar to many I have talked to. Most of us feel that the WHO advisory is too strong a reaction. The CDC travel alert recommending precautions like hand-washing and avoiding hospitals seems to be much more reasonable and appropriate. SARS is contained in Toronto (not just occurring randomly in the general population - new cases have been in health care workers, all cases can be linked to original infections) and risk is extremely low.

I can understand, though, that an organization like the WHO must err on the side of being too cautious if there is any doubt. I hope that people considering whether or not to make or change travel plans will take the time to read about the situation (the CDC website is good) and judge what is best for them based on the facts not sensationalized views. Obviously peoples decisions will vary based on their individual circumstances.

canuckuphereathome

I live in a city about 2 hrs. from Toronto and there have been cancellations of sporting events here! We've never had a single case of even suspected SARS. I think it's been blown quite out of proportion and I think the media has a lot to do with it. I visited Toronto just a few weeks ago and wouldn't hesitate to go again tomorrow. People passing on Toronto are missing a fabulous city.

PJK

I will admit to having concerns about flying my daughter (who is a resident in internal medicine, thus will return to a major health care center) through Toronto on our upcoming flight to Italy. However, I have $700 invested in a non-refundable ticket. She is leaving from a market that has limited options for overseas flights without getting into extremely long layovers. Does anyone know if Air Canada is making any concessions about tickets already issued? PJK

peejay

To PJK:
Air Canada has established a policy for the SARS situation.
Enter:
http://www.aircanada.ca/about-us/news/sars_policy.html

This should answer your questions. I think it says that you can make certain changes.Peejay

JMM

I live in Toronto and my life continues as usual. The only extra precaution I am taking is extra hand washing (as advised by the CDC). I take public transit, go to restaurants, do not war a surgical mask. Most people here think that the CDC is a much more reliable source of info than WHO. The CDC actually visited Toronto unlike WHO. (Apparently WHO prefers to make their decisions without first hand knowledge). The only good thing to come out of the WHO warning is our moronic politicians have finally woken up to the fact that being perceived by the world as plague central is maybe not a good thing. We in Toronto know the city is safe but we live here. Other people can only base their feelings on what they hear and read and unfortunately a lot of the available info is sensational and inaccurate. If you want to get accurate info about the situation I highly recommend the CDC SARS site.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/index.htm