Indoor visits permitted at Toronto's long-term care homes starting today

Jul 22 2020, 7:57 pm

Starting on Wednesday, indoor visits at the City of Toronto’s operated long-term care homes will be permitted again for family members and loved ones.

The City said families can now visit residents through indoor, pre-scheduled visits under certain conditions, which include up to two visitors at a time, per resident, as long as the home is not experiencing an outbreak and visitors can prove they have had a negative COVID-19 test in the last two weeks.

And, people must be wearing surgical masks at all times, which will be provided by the facility. There are 10 long-term care homes operated by the City.

“These changes in our long-term care homes will provide a sense of comfort and relief to families with loved ones in care. Over the past few months, residents of long-term care homes have had to sacrifice much-needed time with family to help stop the spread of COVID-19,” Mayor John Tory said.

“As we restart visits in our long-term care homes, the health and safety of residents, their families and staff will be high priority so that families can continue to be with their loved ones during these challenging times.”

Since June 18, the long-term care homes have been supporting residents with outdoor, physically distanced visits.

There are currently no positive cases of the virus among the residents living in the City’s directly-operated long-term care homes.

“The health, safety and well-being of residents, clients, families and staff members remains the top priority. City staff are ensuring that all safety precautions, new provincial guidelines and requirements for indoor and outdoor visits are being followed as family members are welcomed back into long-term care homes,” the City said.

On July 15, the province relaxed restrictions of long-term care home visits for all facilities across Ontario.

Clarrie FeinsteinClarrie Feinstein

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