COVID-19 Update for December 17 2020 – 1:30PM

Today Premier Doug Ford announced a new staffing plan for long-term care.

The new staffing plan focuses on six key areas of action:

• Investing up to $1.9 billion annually by 2024-25 to create more than 27,000 new positions for personal support workers, registered nurses and registered practical nurses in long-term care to meet the direct care commitment; in addition, providing a 20 per cent increase in direct care time administered by other health-care professionals such as physiotherapists and social workers.
• Accelerating and expanding education and training pathways in order to prepare and train the tens of thousands of new staff that will be required.
• Supporting continued professional development and growth of long-term care staff to improve retention.
• Improving working conditions for staff by coordinating with long-term care employers to increase full-time employment and promote innovative approaches to work and technology.
• Driving effective and accountable leadership in homes across the province to improve oversight, guidance and medical outcomes in long-term care homes.
• Measuring progress against key performance indicators.

The plan is to take place over a four-year timeline. Read the province’s media release here.

More Restrictions Coming?

When asked by reporters, the Premier did not deny another wide-spread lockdown is a possibility to help stem the spread of the virus.

“I will not hesitate to do whatever it takes to slow down this trend that we are seeing and getting it back to numbers we can control in our hospitals,” Ford said.