Faulty medical masks were worn by staff in two Toronto seniors’ homes hit by COVID-19 outbreaks
Defective medical masks supplied to the city of Toronto were worn by staff in two long-term care homes hit by COVID-19, including one in Scarborough with a disastrously deadly outbreak.
Officials said Wednesday there is no indication faulty masks played a role in infecting residents or staff of Seven Oaks in Scarborough or Kipling Acres in Etobicoke - but city and provincial health and safety officials are investigating.
"The city is investigating to determine how many employees in the city's long-term care homes were caring for a patient while wearing these masks, and if there was possible exposure to COVID-19," city staff told the Star.
The mass outbreak at Seven Oaks has killed 16 residents, with the death of another under investigation. More deaths are expected there, said Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto's public health chief.
Of 249 residents at the Nielson Road home, a staggering 101 seniors were by Wednesday confirmed or suspected to have had COVID-19, while 13 staff members had been hit by the potentially deadly virus.
The province is not reporting statistics about individual long-term care homes, so it's not clear if Seven Oaks is among the worst outbreaks in the province. It is, however, the hardest-hit facility of its kind in Toronto.
In total, Public Health Ontario reported 58 outbreaks in long-term care homes with 827 confirmed cases and 78 deaths as of Tuesday. The Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, Ont., reported 28 deaths at the 65-bed facility on Wednesday.
Fire Chief Matthew Pegg, leading Toronto's emergency response to the pandemic, revealed Tuesday that 4,000 boxes of masks made in China and sold to the city by a trusted supplier turned out to be prone to ripping and tearing.
Pegg said Wednesday that, of 200,000 substandard masks, 62,600 were distributed to city-run seniors' homes on or after March 28. A third home that has also had COVID-19 infections, Lakeshore Lodge, received but did not use them.
The vendor has promised a full refund. Mayor John Tory said the city is now doing rigorous quality-control testing on personal protective equipment supplies. The Ontario government has pledged to get the city 200,000 masks to shore up supplies diminished by the defective shipment, Tory added.
The city says it expects this month to receive 3.3 million surgical masks already on order, and another 10 million next month from other vendors.
The union representing staff in the city-run homes quickly realized the made-in-China masks "ripped easily and seemed poorly made," said CUPE Local 79 president Dave Mitchell.
"The city has thankfully quickly removed these masks but we are concerned about our members and their clients who could have been exposed to COVID-19 as a result of this error," Mitchell told the Star in an email.
"The general supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers is a major concern in Ontario. We are joining the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions in a day of action (Thursday) to call on the provincial government to bolster its supply of PPE, which includes masks."
In addition to long-term care homes, city officials have been worried about the potential for deadly outbreaks among clients of city homeless shelters and respites as well as community drop-in sites.
As of Wednesday, there were eight people in the shelter system confirmed to have COVID-19.
After a case was confirmed at the large men's shelter Seaton House, city staff transferred the client and the man he shared a room with to the isolation site for shelter clients.
The capacity of that shelter has been decreased by 40 beds to eliminate use of bunk beds and increase social distancing, Pegg said Wednesday.
By the end of the week, 100 clients will have been moved to hotels or community centres operating as shelters to help with those distancing measures, Pegg said.
David Rider is the Star's City Hall bureau chief and a reporter covering city hall and municipal politics. Follow him on Twitter: @dmrider
Jennifer Pagliaro is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics. Follow her on Twitter: @jpags