Toronto pushes for quarantine centres for those in overcrowded housing who test positive for COVID-19

Thestar.com
July 3, 2020
Jennifer Pagliaro

The city of Toronto is being asked to provide voluntary housing where people who test positive for COVID-19 can self-isolate, if they live in overcrowded areas and can’t distance from others at home.

The request from the city’s board of health comes after it heard Thursday about updated Toronto Public Health data on marginalized groups who are more at risk of contracting the virus.

That includes the group that is the most “underhoused” -- where the number of people per household exceeds the typical capacity -- which had the highest case rate at 568 per 100,000 residents.

Toronto Public Health told the board Thursday this trend was the most “pronounced” of all the characteristics it looked at in its study, with the case rate being almost four times higher among people living in areas with high levels of overcrowding.

The recommendation approved by the board Thursday asks council to request city staff work with public health agencies at the provincial and federal level “to support Toronto Public Health’s work on the establishment of a volunteer isolation/quarantine centre system, as well as other methods to achieve effective isolation for individuals who are unable to safely and effectively isolate at home.”

“The risk of COVID-19 shouldn’t depend on where you live, how much you make, or how many bathrooms you have in your home,” board chair Coun. Joe Cressy said in a statement. “We need to do everything we can to mitigate vulnerabilities to this virus, and to make sure everyone has an equal opportunity to reduce transmission and protect their loved ones.

“In this case, that means working with our government partners to make sure people have somewhere to go if they can’t safely self-isolate at home.”

The Toronto Public Health data also confirmed earlier reports that case rates are higher in the lowest-income areas with newcomers, and that Black and other people of colour are over-represented in the case data.

While the city overall has met key indicators to allow Toronto to move to Stage 2 of the province’s reopening, which saw patios, hair salons and other services open, the Star previously reported how the city’s northwest corner has been hardest hit, looking at the differences in workplaces, housing and access to health care as risk factors.

The city, meanwhile, said it is preparing to return community centres across the city to their regular uses. The roughly 200 homeless residents living in those centres as temporary shelter sites were being moved to hotels.

In a news release, the city said it planned to open new locations to be able to maintain physical distancing between all shelter beds and that, to-date, almost 290 people sleeping in outdoor encampments have been moved to hotels, temporary or permanent housing.

On Thurdsay, Premier Doug Ford announced $150 million in relief for municipalities to help improve homeless shelters and create housing opportunities.

When it was pointed out that amount spread among all municipalities would do little to help cities like Toronto, Ford said the province was “committed” to giving more money to municipalities, but blamed the federal government for holding up an agreement.

Tory, noting the “urgent” nature of the city’s need for funds, said he hoped that money would be matched by the federal government and any bureaucratic disagreements sorted soon. He said given the city bears an unequal responsibility for homelessness in the region, it would be pushing to a fair share of the $150 million.

Toronto expects to have at least a $1.5 billion shortfall by the end of this year as a result of the pandemic.