COVID-19 infections in nursing homes measured at double the rate in Ontario’s general population
The number of nursing home residents testing positive for COVID-19 has gone up 12 per cent in the last day, double the rate in the general population, according to statistics released Thursday by the Ontario government.
Another 99 nursing home residents have contracted the potentially deadly illness that is taking a heavy toll in several long term care facilities, prompting Premier Doug Ford to target more resources to the sector he says has been hit like a "wildfire" by the virus.
At least 933 residents of nursing homes have tested positive to date, along with 530 staff members, an increase of 77 in the government statistics based on reports from public health units as of 4 p.m. Wednesday.
While the province reports 162 nursing home deaths so far, a Star compilation from public health units shows at least 219 have died, raising concerns the provincial figures are being updated slowly and therefore do not provide officials with an accurate picture.
Ontario is sending what Ford called "SWAT teams" from hospitals to the hardest hit nursing homes to help take care of residents and improve infection control, and increasing testing. The province is also prohibiting staff from working in more than one long term care facility to slow the spread of the virus.
That measure, however, won't take effect until April 22, leading to criticism it is not being put in place quickly enough.
Among the nursing homes devastated by the novel coronavirus outbreak are Pinecrest in Bobcaygeon and Eatonville in Etobicoke, which have lost 29 and 30 residents to the illness respectively. More than 100 nursing homes have outbreaks.
"This is a terrible thing they're experiencing right now," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday, noting elders need "better protection."
He hinted at "pay top-ups" for nursing-home employees, who often work for low wages but are now putting their own health on the line. The issue will be discussed with the premiers and territorial leaders.
New testing guidelines issued by the Ontario Ministry of Health stipulate that any nursing home-residents in the same room as a symptomatic patient be tested, along with all residents in adjacent rooms and all staff in the unit, any essential visitors and other contacts as deemed necessary.
For the general population, the guidelines do not recommend testing people without symptoms.
The province completed 9,001 lab tests for COVID-19 in the previous 24 hours, in line with Ford's goal of doing at least 8,000 to get a better picture of how the virus is spreading.
Another 4,323 people were awaiting test results.
A Star compilation of reports from Ontario's 34 public health units as of 11 a.m. Thursday showed 470 more people have now contracted the virus, bringing the provincial tally to 9,738 with an additional 44 deaths, raising that total to 469.
The province says 807 people were in hospital as of the latest reports, with 248 in intensive care and 200 on ventilators. Those numbers have been fairly stable the last several days, indicating hospitals have not experienced the surge of patients they had feared.
Rob Ferguson is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robferguson1