Long term care deaths due to COVID-19 continues to rise

Ontario confirmed 634 new cases of COVID-19 bringing the total to 12,879.

A woman looks out her window at the Eatonville Care Centre in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

The number of people being hospitalized from the virus slightly rose while patients in intensive care and ventilators went down.

516 of the 713 official death count in Ontario have been in long-term care facilities.

The Provincial Ministry of Health says it's changing the way it reports COVID-19 related cases in long-term care facilities by using direct figures from the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care to update Ontarians in a timely manner.

During a news conference today, Doug Ford spoke of the heartbreaking reality of how families are separated from their loved ones who are stuck in infected care homes, like his own mother-in-law who’s currently in a care home with confirmed COVID-19 cases—which she herself has.

“I recognize the system is broken,” Premier Doug Ford said.

Ford has requested military help for hardest hit nursing homes. It’s not yet clear which facility exactly will receive military assistance.

The Federal Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness said on Twitter that the request for military support has been approved.

Currently, there are outbreaks in 132 care home facilities out of the 626 care homes in the province. Around 2,189 residents and 1,058 staff members have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Written by: Aldrin Gomes