SARS Toll Hits 30 in Toronto; 7,000 in Quarantine

Canadian authorities said a man died of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Toronto, bringing the nation’s death toll to 30, and they isolated an Ottawa nurse as a precaution.

Toronto is the only city outside Asia where people have died of SARS, which surfaced in China late last year. More than 750 people have died worldwide and about 8,300 infections have been reported. Toronto has 7,000 people quarantined.

Robert Cushman, chief medical officer in the Canadian capital, said Friday that he was confident the nurse in Ottawa did not have SARS since he was not displaying typical symptoms.

The nurse had been working May 14 when a Toronto woman went to Ottawa General Hospital with respiratory problems. She was subsequently identified as a suspected SARS case.