Should we cancel becuase of SARS??

[CanBeGrumpy]

I'm not afraid of SARS at Disney, BUT I have a friend flying in from SINGAPORE in a couple of weeks, and yes, I am *petrified* to see her! I already told her I would prefer to wait 10 days after she gets here to visit (to see if she gets ill). I feel bad doing that, but hey, I have two kids of my own to think about, and I'm not going to risk my health or theirs! I am quite the germ-a-phobe, but I would not be concerned about SARS at Disney.

 

[madonna31]

If they don't have a cure - then isnt it the inevitable (sp?) that everyone in the world will get it eventually anyways?

If so - then what's the point of trying to *stay away* from it?

Right now - with 200 cases in a country of 30 million plus - I have a greater risk of getting breast cancer when I'm older (1 in 4) but am I gonna *sit around all worried and wait for cancer to get me* - heck no....IM GOING TO DISNEYWORLD!!!

My point is you only live once, and if you spend your hours and minutes worrying about something that *might* happen - what's the point of living?!?

I say: "Long drop? Sharp rocks at the bottom? BRING IT ON"

Froggyq - I am SO happy to read that you have decided to go!!! Can you imagine if they found a cure next week?? You would be kicking yourself in the butt that you cancelled WDW plans!!!

 

[mcnuss]

I have never, ever been so upset about a post in my life. Madonna, SpringsteenMickey et al I apologize if you thought my comment was a slam against Canada?

What I said was: If it makes you feel any better, it is my understanding that none of the people who have it in the US caught it from domestic travel on an airplane. They all had some link to someone who had been in Asia or who had cared for someone with SARS. Same in Canada, in fact there most of the cases have been traced back to 2 people who had traveled to Asia and were treated in an ER or an ICU before anyone knew about SARS.

I was really just trying to point out that the chances were very slim that someone would get SARS from traveling on an airplane domestically. In fact, I was trying to reassure the OP, not point fingers or anything mean. I am sorry that my post has been so badly misconstrued. I am not the slightest bit worried about catching SARS from anyone from anywhere!

Just so you know that I did not make this up, the information about Canada came from the Wall Street Journal, Health Section, April 9, 2003. Bc it is a subscriber site, I cannot give you the link. However, if you'll look at http://www.cbc.ca/news/indepth/background/sars_2cities.html, you will see substantially the same information.

"Back in Toronto on March 7, when his first SARS patient showed up in emergency at the Scarborough Grace Hospital, Dr. Sandy Finkelstein assumed he was dealing with pneumonia or tuberculosis. Unlike the doctors in B.C., he had received no official warning of a mysterious flu-like illness breaking out in China. The sick man was not isolated right away. Instead, he spent a fateful 24 hours in the emergency room, infecting the patient in the bed beside him. Both died days later, triggering the chain of infection that has paralyzed Ontario's health-care system.

"It's very difficult to know how much to react early on in an outbreak. When you only have one family being ill, it's very possible that that's as far as it will spread," Finkelstein says. "

 

[tlens]

I'm glad the original poster decided to go. I also understand the fear. I live an hour from Toronto and so far noone in my city/region has contracted SARS or is in quarantine. It's actually quite amazing considering the amountof people from Waterloo region who commute to Toronto for work each day.

Unfortunately, its those people who refuse to obey the quarantine that have me worried. I was to go to a trade show today in downtown Toronto but cancelled strictly due to those who don't obey the quarantine. It's really sad there are people who only care about their inconvenience rather than those around them (case in point, the businesses that have had to shut due to someone not obeying the quarantine).

The media has blown it completely out of proportion. I waited 20 minutes due to a headline the other night on CNN headline news about SARS in the MK (we are cruising on the Wonder May 18-22 with a couple days at WDW). The ACTUAL story was that the Walt Disney company reported to the FCC that travel may drop off due to SARS. That's a far cry from SARS at MK!!

Enjoy your trip, I know I will!

 

[tlens]

I'm glad the original poster decided to go. I also understand the fear. I live an hour from Toronto and so far noone in my city/region has contracted SARS or is in quarantine. It's actually quite amazing considering the amountof people from Waterloo region who commute to Toronto for work each day.

Unfortunately, its those people who refuse to obey the quarantine that have me worried. I was to go to a trade show today in downtown Toronto but cancelled strictly due to those who don't obey the quarantine. It's really sad there are people who only care about their inconvenience rather than those around them (case in point, the businesses that have had to shut due to someone not obeying the quarantine).

The media has blown it completely out of proportion. I waited 20 minutes due to a headline the other night on CNN headline news about SARS in the MK (we are cruising on the Wonder May 18-22 with a couple days at WDW). The ACTUAL story was that the Walt Disney company reported to the FCC that travel may drop off due to SARS. That's a far cry from SARS at MK!!

Enjoy your trip, I know I will!

 

[madonna31]

Unfortunately, its those people who refuse to obey the quarantine that have me worried. I was to go to a trade show today in downtown Toronto but cancelled strictly due to those who don't obey the quarantine. It's really sad there are people who only care about their inconvenience rather than those around them

Thank you for this!! Personally I find the people that are disobeying their quarantine - absolutely disgusting!!

I don't know if the US has heard about the Hewlett- Packard (HP) moron...this guy was a real gem - he KNEW that he was suppose to be in quarantine, ignored it - went to work anyhow and they had to shut down the office - and quarantine the 200 people he works (or shall I say workED) with!!! Another girl went out of quarantine early in order to write an exam?!?...grrrrrr..."I hate this planet"...

I have heard that they are starting to lay criminal charges against these idiots - AND THEY SHOULD!!! If I get quarantined and can not get on the plane to WDW (I leave in 2 weeks) I will hunt down the person that I worked with who ignored the quarantine and charge 'em the cost of my trip myself!!!

 

[deb305]

I live in Ohio, about 10 miles from an outbreak. Yes I was in a panic and tried to find out where they worked, did their kids go to school with mine, etc. Sanity eventually returned (I think). The person and his family quarantined themselves, and no other outbreak in west central Ohio has occured. We continue to go to museums, zoos and movies around the area.
Some things are beyond our control. We went to Disney once a short time after an outbreak of stomach flu in the resorts. From what I read, and talking to staff, Disney does their best to disinfect the rooms. But just like the Disney cruise ships, that only goes so far. Nature rules.
All this is to say if we had a trip scheduled we'd still go and take our infection induced asthmatic 5yr DD with us. As her doctor stresses we can't always prevent her from getting sick, we just manage the heck out of it when she does.

 

[jaysue]

Madonna 31, don't get me going about the contractor who went to HP in Markham and caused those 200 people to go into QT. 10 of those 200 worked in my building on my floor and for a couple of days there, it almost became another 400+ would have gone into QT. Fortunately none of the 10 got sick so we all dodged that one....

Phew!!!!

Thanks
Jason

 

[froggyq]

http://www.lvhhn.org/press_room/lvhhn/2003/0303sars.shtml

Heres an interesting link. My intuition did not fail me maybe not Disney but closer. I just had that feeling that because SARS cases were in big cities at Cananda that someone would either visit and come back with it or live there and visit here. And of course my worst fears come through. Bad thing is this place is only 30 miles from my house and the guy lives a few miles from my hubby's place of work and the malls we go to. Also my son has come down with a upper respitory infection which he needs a nebulizer with pure oxygen and medication every 4 hours plus other antibiotics. Which if it doesn't clear up no leaving for Disney on Thurs. This has been the worst month when it rains it poors!!!
I'm praying he gets over this before we our deadline to leave or I guess we'll go in October instead.
Well thanks Everyone for your time and thoughts on this matter!
Froggyq

 

[mom_rules]

Best of luck to you Froggyq-I hope everything works out okay.

 

[nativetxn]

Well, my goodness Froggy. I sure hope you don't cancel your trip.

I live in Mid Michigan. Canada is about 90 miles from me. My husband spends a lot of time because of his work in Detroit which is right across the river from Canada.

I don't think it would help us one bit to cancel our trip to WDW. We are exposed to this every day. I think most people are.

Thank goodness it isn't all that dangerous. What is the survival rate? I think it's 96.5% survival rate, better than the ordinary, never talked about on the evening new influenza.

Good luck with whatever you decide. I won't be cancelling my trip in May and I sure hope you don't have to cancel either

Katholyn

 

[mom_rules]

I'm close to it too but not worried! I definitely won't be cancelling my trip-I've been planning for almost two years.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi from Toronto.... SARS capital of North America

Myself and my family are continuing our lives normally... it's more likely you would be killed in a car accident then get SARS.

Go have fun and don't worry!

>>^..^<<

 

[jaysue]

Continuation of from SARS capital of North America

Unfortunately 14 people have died in Greater Toronto Area - it is very sad

I would put that in context of a population of some 4 million plus in the Greater Toronto Area though

Agree with >>^..^<<, much more chance of dying in a car accident or some other things - like the Flu for example or how about Cancer at 1,200 Canadians per week (read this in Macleans magazine)

Not to downplay but to put this thing in perspective

Over 10,000 people have been quarantied through this process and the vast vast majority have not become sick

Thanks
Jason

 

[bunnyfoo]

I'm not cancelling my trip and I'm not doing anything differently... I'm still eating out and going to the malls in the Toronto area, but reports of those people breaking quarantines has me worried...

I work at a media organization so we listen to SARS stories all day long. The thing that made me (and many of my friends at work) angry ... is one of our coworkers came to office for the entire week despite, health officials telling anyone who had SARS-like symptoms to stay home. I'm sure she only had a cold, but she was sneezing and coughing, blowing her nose ... not washing her hands and touching absolutely everything in the office. Naturally, several of my friends came down with colds. Then she had the nerve to say that people on the subway were looking at her *funny* ... Grrr!!! When we approached, our manager about it... he just shrugged and took a "What can I possibly do?" attitude and said that we should be sympathetic because she lives pay check to pay check. We just wanted her to take adopt some basic hygiene practices ... no one wants to get sick... SARS or a cold.

 

[sammyboy]

in a word--NO! I'm a physician, and there is no way i would avoid travel (unless to asia) because of SARS! Thr risks are WAY overstated because of the media!

 

[mom_rules]

Thank-you!!!

 

[tlens]

Please understand that living near Canada doesn't place you in any higher risk than anyone else. The whole country of Canada isn't and not all Canadians are infected. From what I understand, SARS is in a vast majority of US states as well. I'm sure they all weren't caught by visiting Canada. People visiting California have as big of a chance of running into a SARS patient as someone visiting Windsor. (by Detroit). Do we have some issues in Toronto? Yes. Am I scared of catching SARS? Not really. Right now as I live an hour from Toronto and there are no SARS cases here. If there was a big outbreak in my area, I would be more cautious but would still have to work (need to pay for those Disney trips!) and go out in public.

(BTW, starting messages saying the SARS captial of North America probably isn't helping to quell people's fear of Canadians and SARS!

 

[mom_rules]

tlens-we totally agree. (BTW we live not that far from you!)

 

[tlens]

mom_rules:

Are you from Kitchener?? Gotta love the weather today