Spread of SARS Chills Canada’s Easter Services

The SARS outbreak in Canada is forcing Roman Catholics to change centuries-old Easter traditions……

The SARS outbreak in Canada is forcing Roman Catholics to change centuries-old Easter traditions……The SARS outbreak in Canada is forcing Roman Catholics to change centuries-old Easter traditions this week, while many people are avoiding public gatherings altogether, even refusing to use Toronto’s transit system, officials said on Wednesday. In Ontario, the hardest hit province, health officials are considering using electronic tracking devices to enforce quarantine orders and said the upcoming holiday weekend will be key in the fight against the disease. Church leaders decided to adjust religious services that normally would include sharing communion wine and physical contact, and urged people to stay home if necessary in a bid to contain Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, a pneumonia-like illness. “The outbreak of SARS has created an environment where people just don’t want to gather,” said one Toronto businessman who said he would not attend any religious services this week. Church groups became more alarmed by SARS after 500 members of a charismatic Roman Catholic group were sent into quarantine this week when 29 people and two doctors who treated them were diagnosed as probable or suspect cases. Toronto’s Roman Catholic leaders suspended the practice of sipping sacramental wine from a communal cup and said the traditional communion wafer will be placed in churchgoers’ hands and not on their tongues. “The preservation of life is a primary obligation,” said Monsignor John Murphy of the Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, in a letter outlining the changes to Toronto pastors. In addition, confession will take place outside the confessional booth, churchgoers will bow instead of shaking hands as a sign of peace during services and instead of kissing the crucifix, people are being asked to bow or genuflect instead. “We’ve been advising all denominations…when it comes to sharing any kinds of spoons or dishes or chalices, that should be avoided if at all possible,” said John Letherby, a spokesman for Ontario’s Ministry of Health. Easter, the most important week in the Christian calendar, marks the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Under normal circumstances, many adherents would attend church services on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. With the Jewish Passover holiday also this week, Ontario health officials ratcheted up their warnings on Wednesday, telling people to stay home if they exhibited any signs at all of the illness, such as fever, headaches, dry cough or muscle aches and pains. “We’re at a weekend where traditionally there’s a lot of activity. People are meeting, they’re socializing, so we’ve got a whole lot of risk factors all coming together at once,” said Dr. James Young, Ontario’s commissioner of public safety. “We’re asking for a level of people staying home that is quite unprecedented but very important.” Health officials said there are now 303 probable and suspected SARS cases in Canada, 249 of them in Ontario. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has killed 13 people in Canada, all of them in Ontario. Canada is the only country outside Asia where people have died from the outbreak. The virus, which originated in southern China’s Guangdong province, has killed 159 people and infected nearly 3,500 worldwide. The virus seems to spread in water droplets, such as those produced when people cough, sneeze or talk. Health officials, battling to contain the disease which first surfaced in Toronto in March, insist they have not lost control even though it has now spread to the religious group. “We’re not panicked. We’re not asking people to panic,” said Dr. Young. About 10,000 people have gone into voluntary quarantine in Ontario since the outbreak began, at least two major conventions have been canceled and some foreign countries have advised their citizens to avoid traveling to Toronto. Toronto residents are even avoiding riding the public transit system. Transit authorities said they lost 750,000 riders in just two weeks after the outbreak. About 1.3 million people use the system on a daily basis. Toronto’s transit authority said it stands to lose about C$1.2 million as people avoid large gatherings, like restaurants and the cinema, and fewer people take the bus, train or streetcar as a result.(Source: Reuters; Amran Abocar; Wed April 16, 2003 06:03 PM ET )