28 military members serving at long-term care homes test positive for coronavirus
A total of 28 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members have tested positive for COVID-19 after serving at long-term care homes in Ontario and Quebec.
This shows a drastic increase compared to the confirmed five cases on May 15.
As of May 20, there are 12 CAF members who have tested positive in Ontario and 16 in Quebec who have contracted coronavirus — updates are provided daily for the duration of CAF assistance in long-term care facilities.
There are roughly 265 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members assisting at five long-term care facilities across the Greater Toronto Area.
And on May 7, 1020 personnel committed to the support of 20 long-term care facilities in Quebec were sent. Of this number, over 670 medical and support personnel are contributing inside the facilities, while nearly 350 individuals are providing essential day-to-day support.
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According to the federal government, additional CAF members were deployed to support Quebec’s most vulnerable residents.
It is expected that approximately 1350 CAF members will work at 25 facilities when the deployment is complete.
All CAF members arrived in response to a request for assistance from the federal government.
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged that the Canadian government has a responsibility to ensure the CAF have the proper support to minimize the risks they undertake to serve the country.
“There are always risks in what they do and they go into that knowingly and willingly and that is why we offer them our deepest gratitude every day,” Trudeau said during his press conference on Friday.
“At the same time, we need to make sure that we are doing everything we can to protect them, so we will look at the protocols in place and see if and how they can be strengthened, as well as ensuring that cases of COVID-19 don’t spread through the Canadian Armed Forces and others who are serving their country.”
No names of the members nor which long-term care homes they had been working at were released.
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