As SARS toll climbed, so did economic cost to Toronto

Brad Mackay

No one yet knows Canada's final health toll from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), but officials in Ontario already know the financial tab will be huge.

Figure. Business as usual? The prime minister visits Toronto's Chinatown Photo by: Canapress

As soon as news broke about the first fatalities — a Chinese mother and son living in Scarborough — consumer traffic in the city's Asian communities dropped precipitously. Businesses in both of Toronto's downtown-area Chinatowns and in the Pacific Mall have reported traffic decreases of between 70% and 90% since the outbreak began in mid-March. In fact, things had become so unsettled by early April that Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and other politicians trekked to Chinatown in an attempt to prove it was safe.

The same anxiety led to shortages of face masks and antibacterial soap at many drug stores and medical supply firms. The subsequent images of masked city workers, when combined with intense media coverage, led to a rash of conference cancellations. Hotels reported millions of dollars in cancelled reservations, including 1 major cancer care convention. By late April, Toronto was an international pariah, with countries around the world — and the World Health Organization — issuing travel advisories. Harvard University told its faculty members not to travel to Toronto, while Wal-Mart restricted travel to the city for its American executives.

Entrepreneurs were quick to cash in — SARS travel protection kits, which included masks, gloves, pocket-sized bottles of hand wash and herbal remedies to boost the immune system, were soon selling on the Internet for US$49. — Brad Mackay, Toronto