Ontario Long-Term Care Minister Rod Phillips at Humber River Hospital, in Toronto, on Nov. 5, 2020.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Ontario plans to spend $20-million to double the number of long-term care home inspectors in the province.
Long-Term Care Minister Rod Phillips says the government plans to hire 193 staff by next fall.
He says the funds will create a ratio of one inspector for every two long-term care homes and will allow for more pro-active visits.
He says the province aims to hire inspectors with investigative backgrounds, such as in law enforcement.
The announcement comes ahead of legislation expected later this week that Phillips says will empower inspectors to lay charges on the spot.
Phillips says the government is following recommendations from the commission that examined conditions in Ontario’s long-term care homes, which saw thousands of COVID-19 deaths and infections during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Ontario is reporting 269 new cases of COVID-19 today, and five more deaths.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 176 of those cases are in people who aren’t fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.
It’s the lowest number of new daily cases since early August.
There are 138 people in intensive care units due to COVID-19, and Elliott says 121 of them are either not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.
There are 150 new school-related cases being reported today, though they span new cases from Friday afternoon to Monday afternoon.
Nearly 88 per cent of eligible Ontarians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and almost 84 per cent have both doses.
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