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NEWS: Area long-term care homes and COVID (Dec. 2020)

December 21st, 2020 · No Comments

There have been many outbreaks in long-term care homes across Ontario, including ones within the Gleaner’s distribution area. According to the province, Vermont Square, Kensington Gardens, O’Neill Centre and St. George Care Community have all experienced coronavirus outbreaks but have recovered since.

According to an October 30 statement from MPP Jessica Bell’s office, 62 residents and 47 staff tested positive for the coronavirus at Vermont Square. Executive Director Abiola Awosanya did not respond to the Gleaner’s request for comment by press time. The province shared that there were 11 deaths from COVID-19 in the home. 

Vermont Square is now virus-free and is only allowing essential visitors, has increased cleaning and sanitation protocols, implemented bi-weekly testing for staff, and ensured a daily screening of all residents and staff.

Also, according to the province, eight residents of Kensington Gardens died from COVID-19, as reported in the May 2020 edition of the Gleaner. Kensington Gardens is now virus-free and has implemented stronger protocols similar to those at Vermont Square.

According to the province, there are 134 long term care homes in all of Ontario with an active COVID-19 outbreak,  as of December 15, 2020. Also according to the province, 2,424 long term care residents in Ontario have died from the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, and 292 locations have resolved their outbreak. Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing’s COVID-19 tracker, which includes data from retirement homes, reports much higher numbers, however.

Thankfully, the centres located in the Annex have fully recovered from the virus, and are taking extra precautions to prevent further outbreaks.

—Mary An/Gleaner News

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Tags: Annex · News