Long-term-care homes proving to be high risk for the military

Almost 30 personnel have now tested positive

Canada’s military knew it was going into a “highrisk” environment when it deployed to long-term-care homes, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Thursday, as the Armed Forces reported that 28 personnel have contracted the virus.

The Canadian Armed Forces said 12 personnel in Ontario and a further 16 in Quebec had tested positive for COVID-19, but gave no further information about their conditions. That’s up sharply from the last update on May 15, when five personnel had the virus. “We’ve asked Canadian Armed Forces members to go into long-term-care facilities, into an environment that had a higher number of the COVID virus,” Sajjan told the Star. “We knew they were going to be going into a high-risk environment.” They are among the 1,650 troops deployed in response to calls for help from the two provinces to care for residents in the homes — about 1,400 personnel in Quebec and about 250 in Toronto-area facilities.

“The prime minister stated, and I echo, soldiers should not be used in long-term facilities but nonetheless we needed to save lives, we needed to support Canadians. This is one of the reasons why we decided to move in as quickly as possible,” Sajjan said.

Still, he said, troops were sent with the appropriate training and equipment though he conceded this mission was unlike any other deployment.

He said officials are “comfortable with the high level of procedures they have in place.”

Defence spokesperson Daniel Le Bouthillier said that when personnel become ill, they are removed from the long-term facilities and given medical care. He said other personnel may have to be isolated or quarantined depending on their exposure.

He said additional personnel would be brought in as required to fill any gaps.

During the deployments, personnel are housed in contracted hotels. Food services, transportation and laundry are independently provided to ensure they are self-sufficient. He said troops adhere to the recommendations of publichealth officials, including physical distancing and hand washing. As well, military medical technicians have also been deployed to keep watch over their health.

“To ensure the mental wellbeing of personnel working in a new and unfamiliar environment, we have set up ongoing mental health training and discussion sessions after work shifts,” Le Bouthillier said.

The military says it will provide daily updates on the numbers of personnel on the mission who have contracted the virus.