Ontarians will be able to visit loved ones in long-term care and retirement homes starting next week if they test negative for COVID-19.
Premier Doug Ford, along with Minister of Long-Term Care Merrilee Fullerton announced a new plan on Thursday that will allow people to visit long-term care, retirement homes and other congregate living settings where there aren’t COVID-19 outbreaks.
Those visits will be allowed to start on June 18.
Long-term care homes that are not in an outbreak — defined as any more than a single case — will allow one visitor per resident, once a week in an outdoor setting.
“We need families to be able to see their loved ones and today we’re taking the first steps to help reunite families, to help reunite loved ones in the safest way possible,” said Ford at Thursday’s news conference.
Retirement homes will be able to resume indoor and outdoor visits in resident units or designated areas, while other residential care settings will allow outdoor visits of two people at a time as long as physical distancing can be maintained.
Minster of Long-Term Care Merrilee Fullerton announced a “responsible” plan to allow visitors into long-term care and retirement homes during the provinces’ daily briefing on Thursday. 1:34
This new measure comes with many strict conditions for visitors. All visitors must have tested negative for the novel coronavirus in the past two weeks, complete a health questionnaire, and during the visit, must wear a face mask or covering, maintain a safe physical distance, and wash or disinfect their hands.
All congregate care homes also need to meet strict conditions before welcoming visitors. In addition to not being in an outbreak, homes must have an established process for communicating safety protocol and procedures to visitors and maintain strict infection prevention and control measures.
“I know this is a day we have all been desperately waiting for but we can’t take this progress for granted,” said Ford.
“I ask everyone to be cautious and act responsibility as the battle to contain COVID-19 is not over and the risk to our loved ones still remains.
Other residential care homes that will be allowed visitors under similar rules include homes serving people with developmental disabilities, shelters for survivors of gender-based violence, and children’s residential settings.
Meanwhile, Ontario public health officials have tracked COVID-19 outbreaks in a total of 316 long-term care facilities, though 77 remain active.
The newly confirmed infections mark the fewest seen on a single day since March 28 and just a 0.6 per cent increase in total cases.
More than 82 per cent, or some 25,885, of Ontario’s cumulative cases are resolved. There were twice as many recoveries, 505, than additional confirmed infections reported yesterday.
The province’s network of labs processed 24,341 tests, nearly reaching the system’s capacity of 25,000 on any given day. Another 16, 359 are in the queue waiting to be processed.
Further, there are currently 3,172 active cases in the province, the fewest since new daily cases started to rise again in mid-May.
Some 78 per cent of Ontario’s active cases are concentrated in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), while another 12 per cent are in other regions not moving forward into the next stage of reopening tomorrow.
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said during a COVID-19 briefing on Thursday, that the regions not moving forward to Stage 2 will be assessed on a weekly basis.
“Some of [the regions] that are in Stage 1, held back for the week, will be considered to move up to Stage 2 depending on how their data moves and shifts,” Williams said.
Any changes to the status of the regions still in Stage 1 will be announced on Monday, with the changes taking effect the following Friday.
“We’d rather go stalwartly forward, rather than jumping forward [and] going back,” he said.
Meanwhile, the number of patients in Ontario hospitals with confirmed cases of COVID-19 continued to drop, falling by 42 down to 538 — the fewest since April 5.
The number of those being treated in intensive care units and with ventilators both remained relatively steady at 120 and 87, respectively.
Ontario’s official death toll grew by 12 to 2,487. It’s the third straight day that the official count has increased by fewer than 15 deaths. A CBC News count based on data compiled directly from regional public health units, however, puts the real current death toll at 2,543.
Nearly 79 per cent of all deaths in the province were residents of long-term care homes.
Premier, health minister test negative
Meanwhile, Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott both tested negative for COVID-19, Ford’s office said today.
Lecce had an assessment completed in Toronto after learning he had recently been in contact with a person with a confirmed case of COVID-19. In a statement, a spokesperson for Lecce’s office said that he will remain in isolation for two weeks from the time of exposure, June 6 to June 20, and monitor for any potential symptoms.
Ford and Elliot are scheduled to be at today’s daily COVID-19 briefing at Queen’s Park.
“To be clear, both Premier Ford and Minister Elliott have had no known contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19, and as a result, there is no need for either of them to self-isolate,” said Ivana Yelich, spokesperson for Ford’s office, in an email.
Ontario appoints new patient ombudsman
Meanwhile, the provincial government announced today that it has appointed a new patient ombudsman.
The role sat vacant for two years after Elliott, who was appointed to the position by the previous Liberal government, resigned in 2018 to run in the Progressive Conservative leadership race. The office continued to operate, however.
Cathy Fooks will step into the job effective July 13, the province said. Fooks has been the president and CEO of The Change Foundation, an independent health policy think tank based in Toronto, since 2007. Before that, she served as executive director of the now-defunct Health Council of Canada, a public reporting agency focused on health-care reform.
Her term as patient ombudsman will last five years, though the government can renew after that period.
Ontario is recommending passengers wear face coverings or non-medical masks on public transit to fight the spread of COVID-19.
It also urges commuters to practice physical distancing and hand washing, and the installation of barriers between drivers and passengers along with frequent cleanings.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
