Toronto Public Health won’t release COVID-19 details for specific seniors’ homes

Thestar.com
April 15, 2020
David Rider

Toronto Public Health will not release detailed information on COVID-19 infections and deaths of vulnerable senior citizens in long-term care homes, the city’s top public health official said Tuesday.

Dr. Eileen de Villa made the remark as the death toll at Eatonville Care Home in Etobicoke reached 27, surpassing Seven Oaks home in Scarborough as the hardest-hit Toronto seniors’ facility in an epidemic ravaging some homes.

As of Tuesday afternoon 38 Toronto long-term care homes -- where residents have significant health needs -- and 14 retirement homes had experienced COVID-19 outbreaks. Seniors home outbreaks had claimed the lives of 69 residents.

On April 2 de Villa’s department reported one COVID-19 case at Eatonville. Asked Monday about the status of the outbreak there, de Villa told reporters she had no specifics and would follow up. Hours later the home itself confirmed 25 virus-related deaths after residents were notified and told reporters.

De Villa defended Toronto Public Health’s approach at a daily news briefing when told many people with parents in seniors’ homes are eager to know details of outbreaks at specific sites.

“I’m truly concerned about the devastating impacts of COVID-19 we are seeing at our long-term-care homes,” she said, but her staff are focused on helping the city-run, private and not-for-profit homes prevent infections and fight outbreaks.

“If you want to understand and have the most up-to-date numbers around what’s happening in a specific home, the best thing to do is to connect to the home directly,” de Villa said.

However, she added: “Tracking the numbers that are constantly changing while trying to provide care and maintain strict outbreak control measures is a Herculean task.

“I don’t think that there is any real effort or intent by long-term care providers, and certainly not by public health, to not be forthcoming with numbers.”

Premier Doug Ford on Tuesday said his government will ban seniors home residents from working in more than one facility to help extinguish the “wildfire” spread of COVID-19 in such sites.

De Villa said Toronto has asked staff at 10 city-run long-term-care homes to declare the city as the primary employer, to help prevent virus spread, and is offering them benefits including extra hours and overtime.

Toronto on Tuesday afternoon had 2,543 confirmed and probable COVID-19 infections with 223 people in hospital -- 90 in intensive care -- and a total 115 deaths. A day earlier the city reported 80 people in intensive care and 92 deaths.

Despite the grim news, amid hopes the virus is peaking outside of seniors’ homes officials are planning how to bring a huge, mostly shuttered city back to life.

Mayor John Tory said his task force on Toronto’s recovery from the crisis on Tuesday worked on ways to declare the city “open for business” after infections diminish to the point that people can safely start mingling again.

Toronto is learning from cities further along in the pandemic and the reawakening will come in stages, he said, mindful of advice from public health officials and the possibility of a second wave of infections.

“I think (the reopening plans) are going to be robust, they’re going to be complete in context of looking at every neighbourhood, every kind of business, every kind of organization.” Tory said.

“I haven’t heard anybody talking about flipping a switch and everything going back to the way it was.”