March 12, 2021 – The Wall Street Journal
Covid-19 Slammed Canada’s Nursing Homes. Now Deaths Are Way Down.
Dr. Samir Sinha, co-chairman of Ryerson University’s aging institute, said the number of Covid-19 outbreaks at the country’s 5,800 nursing homes has plummeted by 70% since early January. This coincides with marked declines over the past two months in the seven-day average of confirmed Covid-19 cases, from over 9,000 to under 3,000, and related hospitalizations, from over 4,000 to 1,600.
Dr. Sinha said the bulk of Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and related deaths nationwide now involve individuals 65 and over who still live at home. “That’s why the race is on to get as many of them vaccinated as we can,” he said. Provinces, such as Ontario, are now focusing on that segment of the population in the second phase of their vaccination rollouts.