April 23rd 2003 is a day Toronto won't soon forget.
It was the day the world was told to stay away from Canada's largest city.
SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome was a flu-like respiratory illness that first appeared in southern china in 2002. It was spread by close person to person contact. Infected patients travelled by air internationally, spreading the disease globally.
It arrived in Toronto in the spring of 2003 and in a matter of weeks this public health problem had morphed into a crisis with national implications.
It's been a decade and a half since a declaration that shook Toronto.
15 years ago Monday, on April 23rd 2003, the Geneva based World Health Organization issued an advisory warning travelers to stay away from Toronto …unless absolutely necessary.
NEWSTALK 1010's Kym Geddes has this In-Depth report.