August 11, 2020 – The Globe and Mail
More than 1,000 long-term care residents died of COVID-19 in older, multibed homes, analysis shows
By: Karen Howlett
During the pandemic, physical distancing kept the coronavirus in check for the most part in the community. But Ontario’s emergency plan did not include measures to reduce crowding in nursing homes. Once the virus found its way into older homes, it was impossible for residents sleeping in ward rooms separated by nothing but a cloth curtain to practise distancing, leaving them acutely susceptible to becoming ill. “They would have known beforehand that four-bed rooms are a bad idea,” said Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA in Toronto. “It was almost as if the house was lit on fire, we locked the door and told them to fend for themselves.”