The city has managed to find new lodging for most of the residents who were recently displaced from a residential care home in central Hamilton.
Emerald Lodge was evacuated on Friday amid what the city initially described as a “deteriorating situation” at the facility.
Paul Johnson, director of the city’s emergency operations centre, said on Monday that the evacuation was prompted by a “combination of factors” tied to public health, staffing, fire safety and security.
As of Thursday afternoon, Johnson said they’ve managed to find permanent new homes for 18 of 27 residents.
Another seven remain at the temporary shelter at the former Cathedral boys’ school, but are expected to be moved into a more permanent space later this week and into next.
Johnson acknowledged that it wasn’t an ideal situation for the residents.
“We understand just how disruptive this was, with little warning and lots of anxiety around it. So kudos to our city staff and our community partners, who are really working as fast as they can to allow people to get back into a position of stability again.”
The home is in receivership and its receiver, Grant Thornton Ltd., called for the evacuation as the result of a situation that was described as “increasingly untenable and unsafe” for residents and staff.
It was formerly run and operated by a member of the same family that owned the Rosslyn Retirement Residence, which was the site of Hamilton’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreak.
While none of the residents tested positive for the virus, Johnson said a lack of infection prevention and control measures contributed to the reasons for clearing Emerald Lodge.
He said the city was concerned COVID-19 would have a “pretty significant chance of spreading” if it were to get into the home.