More virus updates, Saturday evening
The city has renewed its state of emergency until April 22, as the army arrived to help out at the CHSLDs – the institutions that are, in some cases, running out of protective equipment.
A worker at east-end Grace Dart CHSLD has died of COVID-19 after taking on extra shifts.
The Children’s is now caring for adults with COVID-19 – there’s quite a lot of detail in that CBC piece about how that hospital had already begun to make changes last week so it could treat adult‑sized patients.
Spontaneous walkouts have been declared illegal by the STM. At the same time, its maintenance workers want to be declared essential so that their kids can go to daycare with the other essential workers’ kids, but so far the government has refused.
The Canada-U.S. border has been closed for another 30 days, and a good thing too.
Brett 21:35 on 2020-04-18 Permalink
It’s been common medical knowledge for at least a century that adequate sleep is one of the best things you can do to boost your immune system. The fact that this orderly took on extra shifts to care for her patients is a strong indicator that she may have pushed herself beyond her capacity to deal with the disease. It deeply saddens me that she didn’t receive more support from the system before it was too late.
John B 11:38 on 2020-04-19 Permalink
I thought only essential workers or people who can work from home were allowed to be working. If maintenance workers aren’t essential maybe they shouldn’t be at work. If they’re required to be at work declaring them essential makes sense.
JaneyB 12:32 on 2020-04-19 Permalink
The cleaners for the STM can’t be supported during a pandemic? Someone has failed to think this through. I remember the transit system maintenance workers’ strike in Toronto – a total disaster. Those folks do essential work.