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economist sunsuntribune sars saturday april 26 2003 sars panic reminiscent of aids activist tells markham forum by kathleen griffin staff writer the epidemic gripping the greater toronto area is riot sars its panic writer arid activist june callwoqd declared thursday in markham in a bid to calm fears about severe acute r respiratory syndrome ms callwood joined torontos medical officer of health sheela basrur and family physician joseph wong in a forum at pacific mall in milliken dubbed sars and the asian community dispelling the myths i remember the early days of aids people assumed all they had to do was avoid gay men ms callwood said we see that now for what it was it was panic it was homophobia she said people who are avoiding asian businesses and restaurants are making the same mistake 7 people afraid to go out on the street people running busi nesses afraid of people coming into the store the terrorizing of children or worse children ter rorizing other children because of this invisible virus we will soon see sars for what it is a very minor highly contagious virus ms basrur and dr wong reit erated public health messages the risk of catching sars is extremely low and urged the crowd of about 40 to support their local businesses i i the message is to get on with our lives not let them be taken over the outbreak is not over but in my opinion it is definite ly under control said ms basrur there is an extremely important piece of good news and that is there have been no new cases for 10 days outside hospital staff avoiding shopping thinking you might get sars from another customer or the cashier is the wrong thing to do she said its important our reaction not be worse than the disease its essen tial we show the world a face that doesnt have a mask on it in york region every sars case can be traced back to the original cases at scarborough grace hospital said dr huriiaira khan of the regions public health unit we have not seen any trans mission of sars in the commu nity at all she said the mes sage is to get on with our lives not let them be taken over i find it was a positive mes sage said banker tommy lee who has clients who are retailers and has heard their complaints about the economic impact of sars it was very informative and i feel better now that i hear the stats and how they spoke about the illness said salina sullivari who also attended the forum the fear is worse than sars added bettina law after last years record breaking heat humidity your central air deserves a proper tuneup this year any system over 2 years old should be checked for proper charge and cooling efficiency dont be last in line for service on the first hot day we offer 24 hour service including holidays dont delay order early now booking for early may order now by email unionvilleheatingrogerscom or by phone xmionvizm heating air colntoitioinirvg xtx 905479129 owu pat robinson rut robinson trustee inc trustee in bankruptcy call for a free personal discussion help with creditorprobiems proposal to creditors personal business bankruptcy auroraheadoffice 15105 yongest 201 aichuid 9057272577 richmond hill 9555 yonge si 401 a wddrick 905 5089493 toronto- 15qyorkst 800 at adelaide 4164106648 toufree 18777272577 email patpatrobinsoncom web wwwpatrobinsoncom hes got a pacemaker shes got a grandfather your donations help give someone a second chance this message brought to you as a community service of the economist sun ssan mastercard due to excessive inventory village nissan must drastically reduce all its existing instock models for two days only all vehicles will be priced for quick sale and prices are not negotiable two days only friday saturday april 25 26 friday 9am530pm saturday 9am530pm based on the nature of this sale full product presentation may not be possible maximum 45 minutes per salesperson time available minimum 500 cash visa or certified cheque is required no rain checks offer applies to instock dealer inventory only sorry no phone quotations nothing held back all factory incentives apply special finance rates special lease rates sale location only at village nissan 4600 hwy 7 markham 905 4773337