Laval home for seniors has 105 with virus

In the throes of a serious outbreak, a seniors home in Laval was ordered to have all of its residents tested for COVID -19 and learned that 60 per cent of them had the virus.

The regional health authority in Laval has confirmed that 105 of the 174 residents of the Centre d’hébergement Sainte-dorothée tested positive for the new coronavirus, including one resident who died of COVID-19 over the weekend. That facility may have the worst outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, but it is unclear whether any other seniors’ homes have tested all residents.

Two other seniors’ homes in Laval are experiencing outbreaks: the CHSLD La Piniére has had 12 confirmed cases and five deaths, and the CHSLD Fernand-larocque has 16 confirmed cases, according to the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de Laval.

The CISSS Laval also reports that 87 of its employees have tested positive for the virus.

Laval has 712 confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far, and 21 people have died. There are 33 people in hospital in Laval being treated for symptoms of COVID -19, and seven of those are in intensive care.

“This pandemic is a tragedy for many families who are experiencing very difficult times,” said Judith Goudreau, a spokesperson for the CISSS de Laval. “It is also very difficult for members of our staff. We understand their concerns and we assure them that all resources are being deployed to protect this establishment as well as the other facilities in Laval’s health network.” and planning. Improvisation could prove catastrophic.

There’s got to be a better way to safeguard health-care personnel while also protecting the rights — and well-being — of labouring mothers. What about screening the temperatures and vital signs of fathers? Making prospective parents isolate themselves as their due date approaches? Moving deliveries away from the hot spot of the Jewish? Or, as Legault suggested, allowing mothers who no longer want to deliver there an alternative?

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, and most Quebecers have accepted the sacrifices demanded of them. But we can’t dispense with compassion altogether. And we must not let caution consume our humanity.

Giving birth is a life event no woman should have to go through alone, at any time, anywhere, ever — even during a pandemic.