![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.inbrampton.com\/sites\/inbrampton.com\/files\/imagecache\/lead-image-full\/article\/2020\/05\/coronavirus_2.jpeg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n(May 14, 2020)<\/p>\n
By:\u00a0Matt Dionne,\u00a0InBrampton<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
While the spread of COVID-19 has been trending down in Ontario, cases are still on the rise in congregate care\u00a0settings.<\/p>\n
A report from the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) has found the number of outbreaks in health care settings\u2014including hospitals, long-term care, retirement homes, public health units and clinics\u2014has nearly\u00a0doubled.<\/p>\n
According to the findings, the number of staff and patients in health care settings has increased by 156 per cent over the last two\u00a0weeks.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the number of deaths in these facilities has risen by 333 per cent during the same time\u00a0frame.<\/p>\n
Further, the number of health care staff invected with the virus has continued to increase over the last month\u2014over the last 30 days, the number of health care workers with COVID-19 has increased by nearly 3,000\u2014which is a 67 per cent\u00a0increase.<\/p>\n
Moreover, more staff than patients are currently infected with the virus in public\u00a0hospitals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis says to us that the PPE that staff are able to access is inadequate. It says that testing, contract tracing and isolation need to be ramped up and workers need to be supported to quarantine when they test positive. It says that we need leadership and competence from our government,\u201d Natalie Mehra, executive director of the OHC, said in a news\u00a0release.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeaving it to the health care provider corporations\u2014for-profit and non-profit\u2014to take care of this themselves is not working,\u201d she\u00a0continued.<\/p>\n
The OHC is calling for the government to implement a coherent plan to help curb the spread of the virus in health care facilities\u2014a plan that includes concrete measures to improve supply, capacity and infection\u00a0control.<\/p>\n