Mike Schreiner released the following statement about preventing COVID-19 outbreaks at long-term care facilities in Ontario:

“I urge the government to immediately take up the call from Ontario nurses and limit health care staff to just one retirement or nursing home for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I am very disappointed to learn that these calls have gone unanswered for weeks, even as the virus has spread in many facilities, claiming dozens of lives.

The province should issue an order, similar to BC, that limits the movement of staff to one facility, but that guarantees them full-time hours or wage compensation for lost hours.

We need a firewall around our long-term care facilities, where the spread has become rampant.

It is simply irresponsible to expose health care staff and vulnerable residents to the risks associated with uncontrolled movement between facilities.”