When it comes time for the official post-COVID-19 inquiries, and I think several are called for, it’s fair to predict the situation in nursing and long-term care homes will leave the starkest impression. The Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, Ont. was the first to come to widespread public attention thanks to a harrowing report in The Globe and Mail. “Equipment everywhere.
Clearly, though, not all Canadian jurisdictions put their best foot forward. On April 8, having been caught off guard by the explosion of cases in long-term care homes, Quebec redirected resources from hospitals — who were seeing far fewer patients than anticipated — and announced all care-home residents and staff would be tested for COVID-19. At that point, 85 residents had died of COVID-19.
On Wednesday, public health officials inevitably shifted gears: Now, like Quebec, all nursing home residents and staff would be tested. Five hundred residents had already perished. More compellingly, he cited a shortage of swabs, reagents and personal protective equipment. Public health officers can only work with what governments give them, and it’s clear that in Ontario, especially, the most basic anti-pandemic tools were not available in nearly sufficient quantity. That being the case, resources needed to be rationed as public health officials best saw fit. Their reasoning should and will be subject to inquiry.
This is exactly why we should have stopped flights and secured our borders. Not doing so gave the virus a direct path to our most vulnerable who are crammed into care homes like sardines.
Seniors largely marginalized, treated as dispensable, including by own families.
Butts, McGuinty and Wynne were to busy wasting billions on wind and solar we didn’t need instead of looking after our crumbling health infrastructure.
Lessons learned. The problem was that PMJT allowed the virus into the country .
The fact is that mortality from conventional flu-like illnesses has been historically high in senior care facilities for years. Ontario has 39% of Canada's population and more nursing homes. Enough with the sensationalism. sjgarvey CoronaUpdate
Thank you 4 helping to wake up the masses with this article. Truth is public health put the vulnerable & healthcare staff at risk by allowing patients to be transferred to homes from hospitals while being COVID+ or symptomatic.We continue to shut down economy for the ineptitude?
Anyone who abandoned their post should be jailed. You left people to die; abhorrent. I hope they never work again. Don't even serve me coffee.
What a sad story to read. All of those tax dollars spent on x, y and z when times were good. And when it went south, all the king's horses and all the kings men...