Ontario AG says decisions by government, officials ‘complicated’ long-term care homes ability to respond to COVID-19

Ontario auditor general Bonnie Lysyk said Wednesday that from her perspective, there were decisions made by government and other officials that “complicated” long-term care homes’ ability to deal with their residents, including the transferring of patients into homes causing overcrowding that created isolation issues. As well, the March directive to restrict family visits to avoid COVID-19 outbreaks, some of who were caregivers, resulted in a decrease in “hands” from people who could assist long-term care staff with helping patients.