A NEW SARS BOMBSHELL.

There'd been no new Canadian cases of SARS in a month. But the situation went from good to bad to worse in just two days last week. First, Toronto public health officials announced that they suspected five new cases of SARS in a north Toronto hospital. Then, on Friday, they indicated there was a second possible cluster at another hospital in the city's north end, bringing the number of suspected or probable cases to at least 20. Dr. Donald Low, director of microbiology at Mount Sinai Hospital, reported that hundreds of people have been asked to go into quarantine because of possible transmission of the virus at St. John's Rehabilitation Hospital and at North York General Hospital, where two patients died. Hours before the SARS news began to break last week, Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman was praising health-care workers and city residents for their efforts in battling the disease that has struck more than 8,100 people worldwide, killing 689, including 24 in the Toronto region. The latest developments strike an overwhelming blow to Toronto's economy. Having lifted its travel alert to Toronto on May 14, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control re-issued it on Friday.