Finnish recommendations for restricting travel because of SARS
The Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health recommends restricting all but necessary travel to Beijing, Hong Kong and the Guangdong and Shanxi Provinces in China because of SARS. These recommendations conform to those of the World Health Organisation. The Ministry will follow the recommendations to be issued by the WHO and report about possible changes to them. The WHO deleted Toronto on 29 April from the list of areas to which travel was advised to be restricted, since no new infections caught locally had been detected there for twenty days. Finland has informed the WHO of a suspected SARS infection caught by a Finnish man who arrived from Canada and is being treated in the Turku University Hospital in Finland.
The WHO has detailed information about all cases of SARS emerged in Canada, and the Organisation continuously follows on a global basis possible new infections caught in Canada, and will, if necessary, decide on new recommendations for restricting travel to the area on the basis of the overall situation.
Airport passengersdeparting from Canada obtain written instructions advising them to watch any symptoms of possible SARS and contact a doctor if necessary. The Finnish man arriving from Toronto who has probably contracted SARS acted as advised and is recovering from the disease in hospital.
Further information: Merja Saarinen, Ministerial Counsellor, Health Affairs, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, tel. +358-9-160 74030.
Further information also available at: www.ktl.fi and www.who.org