If there is one statistic related to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada that stands out like a sore thumb, it is the fact that 81 percent of the deaths have occurred in long-term care centers (nursing homes).
This is particularly true in long-term homes run privately on a for-profit basis. So bad is the situation in these particular centers that, last Spring, the military had to be called in to deal with the crisis in five Toronto homes and on May 26 issued a scathing report that detailed “horrific” allegations of insect infestations, aggressive resident feeding that caused choking, bleeding infections and residents crying for help for hours. Ontario Premier Doug Ford called it “the most heart-wrenching report” he’s ever read in his life.