TORONTO — The Ontario government is working to decide which of the province’s long-term care homes will receive assistance from the Canadian Red Cross as the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic takes hold.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Long-Term Care says the province will be finalizing details of the deployment over the coming days.
On Sunday, the federal government announced it had approved a request from Ontario to send the Red Cross to seven long-term care facilities in Ottawa.
The federal minister of public safety, Bill Blair, tweeted that the organization would “help assess and stabilize the situation” in the homes.
Provincial data show 66 long-term care homes currently have outbreaks of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the province says there were 746 new COVID-19 cases recorded today, and 807 on Monday. Nine new deaths were also reported today, and three on Monday.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says today’s new cases include 311 in Toronto, 135 in Peel Region and 116 in Ottawa.
She says 1,292 cases were marked as resolved over the two days.
The province has conducted more than 67,700 tests in that time.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2020.
The Canadian Press
