CUPE survey suggests Hamiltonians think Ontario should protect health care workers better

A new survey is shedding light on how Hamilton and Niagara residents want to see the province better tackle COVID-19.

The survey, conducted by Public Polling on behalf of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) and CUPE Ontario, shows that half of all respondents believe the provincial government should move longterm care residents who are sick with COVID to hospital, four out of five think Ontario needs to better protect health care workers from the virus and nearly four out of five want to see testing “significantly increased” in the province.

Fewer than one out of five said the province “planned properly” for the pandemic.

The poll included responses from 503 adults in the Hamilton-Niagara area. It was conducted by phone from May 4 to May 9.

In a Wednesday virtual news conference, OCHU president Michael Hurley said the survey reveals the public is “very sophisticated” and has “well-informed” views on how government should respond to the pandemic.

Hurley said CUPE members who work in hospital or longterm care settings consistently say they don’t have access to the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need to work safely, including N95 masks.

As for ramped up testing, Premier Doug Ford has routinely called for just that, recently encouraging anyone who wants to get a test to get one.

Ontario completed17,537 tests Tuesday, one of the province’s highest daily completion rates yet. The province has capacity to process 20,000 tests a day.

On Wednesday in Hamilton, there were nine new cases of COVID-19, bringing our total of confirmed and probable cases to 706.

The new cases include a child younger than 5 and one between the ages of 5 and 19. Some 539 cases — or 76 per cent — are resolved.

There are just two ongoing outbreaks in the city — one at Aberdeen Gardens Retirement Residence, where one resident tested positive and one at Hamilton General Hospital in the COVID unit, where nine staff have tested positive. An outbreak at Desmond & Peggy Little Retirement Residences is now over.

Hamilton public health previously reported there were 10 cases at the General but one case was reassessed and deemed to be not associated with the outbreak, said Kelly Anderson, public health spokesperson.