MONTREAL -- The situation at the Grace Dart Extended Care Centre continued to deteriorate on Friday despite promises from health authorities to implement new safety measures, according to family members of residents.
As of Friday, 62 people involved in the residence have tested positive for COVID-19, including 13 staff members, up from 38 a day earlier.
Pam Booth said her sister Sharon, who has lung cancer and emphysema, tested positive for the virus.
“It's very dangerous for her right now so I'm not sure how they're going to handle her case,” she said.
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Booth said her sister is sharing a room with two other patients who don't have the virus, separated by less than two metres and a curtain.
“I don't know what to think. It's very, very serious,” she said.
On Thursday, management said a red zone would be set up for those who tested positive but the regional health authority said transfers would take a few day sto complete.
:It seems like once COVID gets a hold in these places, it goes through like wildfire,” said Anne Leblanc, whose sister Madeleine is sharing a room with three other people. One of those roommates tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday but it took more than a day for that person to be isolated.
Anne said she spoke to Madeleine on Friday.
“I noticed she was coughing a lot while she was talking to me and it was a dry cough,” said Leblanc. “She does cough sometimes but not like she was doing today. I'm just very, very worried for her.”
Staff members told CTV News the facility understaffed was understaffed before the pandemic.
Booth said she believes while health authorities prepared for a surge of COVID cases in hospitals, they underestimated the impact on long-term facilities.
“I don't think there was enough stringent measures put in place,” she said. “It was one thing to say no more visitors, but realistically they needed to go much further than that on March 12, like only letting employees work in one location and giving them full (personal protective equipment).”
The regional health authority said it is doing all it can to make sure Grace Dart is fully staffed and to isolate anyone who tested positive for the virus.
