Asylum seekers on front line at Quebec’s long-term-care homes

Vulnerable newcomers face even more risk due to decision to help others

MONTREAL—Some of the of asylum seekers who have come to Canada in recent years have found the path to a new life has taken them straight to the front lines of Quebec’s COVID-19 crisis, where hundreds are believed to be working in hard-hit long-term-care homes.

Carole Ze Benedicte, an asylum seeker from Cameroon, is recovering at home after being infected with COVID-19. She was working as a volunteer at a long-term-care home in Montreal’s west end.

The 34-year-old, who arrived in Canada four years ago as a temporary foreign worker, said she started looking for a way to help her adopted country after being laid off from her job in food services.

When Premier Francois Legault called for more people to sign up to become “guardian angels,” as he has repeatedly called those working in health and long-term care homes, she volunteered.

“My dream has always been to work in a (long-term care home) to help people who are in trouble, and to feel important in society,” she said.

Ze Benedicte said she was assigned to what was supposed to be a “cold” zone of a care home. But soon after, residents in her area were found to be carrying the virus.

Three days later she started experiencing headaches, fevers and muscle pain, despite having worn a mask, gloves, gowns and visors.

When she called the province’s COVID-19 telephone line, she says she was told by a health-care employee that she couldn’t get a test because she didn’t have a medicare card — despite having a social insurance number and having worked in a COVID-positive environment.

Ze Benedicte, who was eventually able to get tested after seeking help from a migrant rights group, says she’s finally feeling better two weeks later despite persistent fatigue and aches.

She is one of thousands of asylum seekers who have taken jobs in long-term care homes or other front-line services, where some are paying the price for their decision to care for others.

Montreal North, where many asylum seekers have settled, has the highest infection rate in the city.