Close X
Friday, November 8, 2024
ADVT 
National

Seniors in B.C. care face high COVID-19 death risk

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Oct, 2021 03:13 PM
  • Seniors in B.C. care face high COVID-19 death risk

VICTORIA - British Columbia's seniors advocate says long-term care and assisted living residents are three and a half times more likely to contract COVID-19 and 33 times more likely to die of the disease.

Isobel Mackenzie's figures come from a report released today that recommends expanding paid sick-leave provisions for staff, hiring more registered nurses, eliminating shared rooms and increasing the scope and frequency of COVID-19 testing.

Two of her key recommendations — mandatory vaccines for all staff and booster shots for residents — are in progress.

Mackenzie's report covered the pandemic period from March 2020 to February 2021, recording 4,484 COVID-19 cases at care facilities and 782 deaths.

Recent data posted by the province's Centre for Disease Control says there were 368 COVID-19 outbreaks at B.C. care facilities from January 2020 to September 2021 and 1,092 deaths of residents.

Mackenzie says while everybody has been affected by the ongoing pandemic, seniors, particularly those living in care facilities, have felt the deepest impact since they are disproportionately at risk of serious illness from COVID-19 or death.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Back to Normal? A Post-vaccination Canada

Back to Normal? A Post-vaccination Canada
As governments put a stop to social activities we previously took for granted, the question of finally returning back to the delicacies of ‘normal’ life lingers.

Back to Normal? A Post-vaccination Canada

The Gunfire Pandemic: When will it end?

The Gunfire Pandemic: When will it end?
Staying safe these days may not just in reference to the pandemic, but also general social safety in our cities. 

The Gunfire Pandemic: When will it end?

Canada to receive 2.9M vaccine doses this week

Canada to receive 2.9M vaccine doses this week
The two pharmaceutical companies had been delivering about 2 million shots per week through the month of May, but will increase that to 2.4 million doses per week starting on Monday.

Canada to receive 2.9M vaccine doses this week

Minimum wage of $15.20 to take effect tomorrow

Minimum wage of $15.20 to take effect tomorrow
The minimum wage in British Columbia jumps to $15.20 an hour on June 1, making it the highest rate of any province in Canada. A statement from the Ministry of Labour says the rate climbs 60 cents per hour Tuesday, while the minimum wage for liquor servers will increase $1.25 per hour to match the minimum wage.

Minimum wage of $15.20 to take effect tomorrow

Feds open loan program for Black entrepreneurs

Feds open loan program for Black entrepreneurs
The Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund will provide loans of up to $250,000 for businesses that are majority Black-owned, or entrepreneurs for their startups or existing for-profit small businesses.

Feds open loan program for Black entrepreneurs

Trudeau vows support after unmarked graves found

Trudeau vows support after unmarked graves found
Trudeau offered sombre words today about the remains of 215 children on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, calling it "heartbreaking news."    

Trudeau vows support after unmarked graves found