COVID 19 and Ontarios Long Term Care Homes

Ontario longterm care (LTC) home residents have experienced disproportionately high morbidity and mortality, both from COVID19 and from the conditions associated with the COVID19 pandemic. There are several measures that could be effective in preventing COVID19 outbreaks, hospitalizations, and deaths in Ontarios LTC homes, if implemented. First, temporary staffing could be minimized by improving staff working conditions. Second, homes could be further decrowded by a continued disallowance of three and fourresident rooms and additional temporary housing for the most crowded homes. Third, the risk of SARSCoV2 infection in staff could be minimized by approaches that reduce the risk of transmission in communities with a high burden of COVID19. Presentation by Dr. Nathan Stall.