COVID-19 positivity rates in City of Toronto long term care homes have dropped significantly following the completion of the vaccination of residents and workers earlier this month.

According to Toronto Public Health, the weekly positivity rate in Toronto’s long term care homes was nearly 11 percent during the first week of November, but had dropped to 0.6 percent by the week of February 7th, much lower than the city-wide positive rate at nearly 5 percent.

But the good news in long term care follows months of devastation in both the second and first waves of the pandemic.

Across the province and according to the Ministry of Long Term Care website, 3,734 long term care residents have died after contracting the virus.

On Monday, Long Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton announced a 4.1 million dollar program to train fewer 373 new personal support workers, while acknowledging the need for 27,000 more PSWs.

David Cravit is chief marketing officer at the Zoomers’ advocacy group CARP and calls this 100-percent optics.

“At this point she’s going in front of the (long term care COVID-19) commission of inquiry later this week (Friday), so I think she wanted to have something up her sleeve to announce. It’s kind of pathetic in relation to what the need is. Where were they before?,” Cravit asks, “Some money could’ve been found in the Summer without much trouble.”

Listen for the full conversation on Zoomer Radio’s Fight Back with guest host Jane Brown by clicking here.

CARP continues to call for Dr. Fullerton’s resignation as long term care minister for failing to protect residents in the second wave.

Add your name to the petition and leave your comments by clicking here.