More needs to be done to protect Ontario’s most vulnerable from coronavirus: nurses association
Posted April 21, 2020 5:56 am.
Last Updated April 21, 2020 8:27 am.
The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario says new coronavirus modelling shows that the province must do more to help its most vulnerable.
CEO Doris Grinspun said long-term care residents, the homeless and Indigenous communities need more protection in the fight against COVID-19.
She said the association also continues to call for increased access to personal protective equipment for workers in long-term care homes.
“We’re making sure that these long-term care homes have the PPE that they require. It is all hands on deck, we’re throwing every resource we possibly can at the long-term care homes,” Premier Doug Ford said on Monday.
The spread of COVID-19 may be peaking in Ontario communities, but not in the province’s long-term care homes.
The government released new numbers on Monday showing cases in those settings continue to climb. The province has recorded at least 127 outbreaks in congregate care settings as of Monday.
Public health officials say they expect new measures aimed at curbing the spread in such settings to start driving the numbers down in the coming weeks.
Toronto’s medical officer of health continues to lobby the province for more testing in group settings, including refugee shelters and homeless shelters.
“We can identify infections faster and implement those strict outbreak control measures that are needed in order to bring those situations to control,” Dr. Eileen de Villa said.
De Villa said 74 people at the Willowdale Welcome Centre refugee shelter have tested positive for COVID-19. She also said everyone at the shelter has been tested for the new coronavirus and many results are pending.
Doctors Without Borders is now in Toronto setting up a recovery centre to help deal with COVID-19 cases among the homeless. The centre will feature 400 beds and is slated to open in the coming weeks.
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