Toronto SARS toll rises

A 67-year-old man has died of the SARS virus in Toronto, bringing the total death toll from the respiratory illness in the city to 34, Ontario’s Ministry of Health announced.

Toronto has seen two outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome, the first beginning in March and the second in May. Cases appeared to be declining, with 37 reported as of Tuesday, down from 64 a week earlier.

Nineteen people remain in critical condition in hospitals, health officials said.

Federal Health Minister Anne McClellan is expected to announce a funding package this week to help pay for unexpected health care costs in Ontario, the only region in Canada directly hit by the SARS outbreak.

Costs for the province’s health care system were estimated at about 1bn Canadian dollars (€633m), as hospitals were forced into strict preventive regimes and thousands of people were quarantined.