TORONTO (CP) - Ontario's first health-care worker died of SARS Sunday, taking the death toll to 39, the Ontario Health Ministry said.

The 51-year-old nurse worked at North York General Hospital, the epicentre of the latest outbreak. The ministry did not say if the nurse was a man or woman.

"This tragic outbreak has claimed many victims. My thoughts go out to the family and friends of this health-care worker who worked so tirelessly for all of us," Tony Clement, Ontario's minister of health, said in a press release Sunday. The last SARS-related death in the province was June 22.

As of Friday, the government reported 23 active probable SARS cases in Toronto. Fifteen of those were listed as critical. Another two cases were listed as suspect.

More than 27,000 people have been forced into quarantine since SARS first appeared in late February.

The contagious disease has also ravaged the city's economy and the province's health-care funding.

Last week, the province presented the federal government with a breakdown of $945 million it spent to date on costs related to SARS.

Those include $395 million for hospitals and other health-care institutions to cover extra staff expenses, buy gloves and other protective gear, and build specialized clinics and isolation rooms.

Another $330 million went to replace lost wages for health-care workers forced into quarantine.

Earlier this month, the federal government promised Ontario a financial bail-out package of $150 million and promised to negotiate on another possible $100 million. The province has rejected the offer.

Some provincial officials have deplored Ottawa's slow pace in providing aid.