A personal support worker at a long-term care home in Windsor, Ont., has died due to the coronavirus.
Unifor issued a statement Saturday, saying Sheila Yakovishin, who’d worked at Berkshire Care Centre for more than 30 years passed away on New Year’s Eve. She was 60 years old.
“On behalf of our union, I express the deepest condolences to Sheila’s family and all those who knew and loved her,” said Unifor national president, Jerry Dias.
“As the New Year begins, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage unchecked in Ontario’s for-profit long-term care homes. It must be stopped.”
According to the statement, Berkshire Care Centre is currently dealing with a severe outbreak involving 82 residents and 38 staff members.
As of Sunday, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit reported that 20 outbreaks involving long-term care and retirement homes remain active in the region. Some facilities have more than 100 cases among residents and staff.
“These rising statistics of infections among workers in Windsor’s for-profit LTC centres are more than numbers,” said Unifor Local 2458 president, Tullio DiPonti.
“They are people like Sheila, with full lives to live.”
At least 8,300 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the region since the start of the pandemic. Health unit statistics indicate 151 people have died due to the virus as of Sunday.