Care home outbreaks spur calls for staff vaccination mandates
CTV
There were 3,265 new cases of COVID-19 identified in Manitoba on Friday, and the rise in cases is having a severe impact on personal care homes.
There were 3,265 new cases of COVID-19 identified in Manitoba on Friday, and the rise in cases is having a severe impact on personal care homes.
The province announced 11 new outbreaks in care homes across the province, a pattern all too familiar for Eddie Calisto-Tavares.
Calisto-Tavares lost her father in the COVID-19 outbreak at Maples Personal Care home in late 2020 and left her home to care for him in his final days.
"I went from Oct. 31 to Nov. 11, which was the day he passed," said Calisto-Tavares. "I learned how to use PPE, and I could just not bear that my father would die alone."
She said the current uptick in outbreaks is reminiscent of what she experienced with her father, and she's losing confidence in the province's ability to manage the issue.
"I don't trust when our Premier, or Shared Health, or whoever comes on and says 'we have it under control.'"
The Long Term and Continuing Care Association of Manitoba said the majority of active COVID cases in personal care homes are from staff.
