March 12, 2021 - Toronto Star
The bubble is suffocating the residents’: Why calls are growing to loosen COVID-19 restrictions at nursing homes
By: Maria Sarrouh
“Now that we know this population is protected, it’s time to liberate them,” said Nathan Stall, Associate Fellow at the NIA. Loosening restrictions means residents can participate in more social activities, leave the premises for some fresh air and most importantly, see more family members. They’ve lived under what Stall calls “arguably the strictest public health restrictions of any population in society” and experienced a “high concentration of mortality”; more than 50 per cent of all Ontario COVID-19 fatalities — 3,760 out of 7,109 — were residents or staff at LTC homes, as of March 11.