Toronto shelter resident dies of coronavirus
Posted May 11, 2020 4:20 pm.
Last Updated May 11, 2020 9:11 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A resident of a Toronto homeless shelter has died of coronavirus, the city’s chief medical officer said Monday.
Dr. Eileen de Villa said the man was in his 50s and was a resident of Dixon Hall Schoolhouse.
He died on May 8 in the hospital.
De Villa said says an outbreak occurred at the shelter in April, but it was declared over by May 5.
This is the city’s first COVID-19 related death in the shelter system since the pandemic began.
The city has not released any other details about the man.
The city’s handling of the homeless during the pandemic has become a contentious issue.
Advocates recently filed a lawsuit against the city for not enforcing physical distancing guidelines at the shelters.
The city has been buying and leasing hotels in an effort to house the homeless during the pandemic.
There have been 258 cases of COVID-19 in the city’s shelters thus far.
