February 3, 2021 – The Globe and Mail
Alberta’s auditor-general to review province’s COVID-19 response in continuing care facilities
By: Carrie Tait
Samir Sinha, director of health policy research and co-chair of the National Institute on Ageing, argues NIA’s data on long-term care facilities and COVID-19 demonstrates the need for Alberta’s investigation.
“We have to figure out how we allowed this story to unfold in Alberta,” he said. “Alberta is the outlier across Canada.”
NIA has logged COVID-19 outbreaks at 73 per cent of Alberta’s long-term care facilities, compared to 62 per cent of those in Ontario. In British Columbia, 39 per cent of long-term care facilities have been hit with outbreaks, according to NIA. Meanwhile, these facilities account for 64 per cent of all COVID-19-related deaths in Alberta, putting the province in the middle of the pack.