A Teaching Moment
I have to try really hard to keep my feelings to myself in regards to some of the posts made by my contacts on social media. So instead of losing some friends, I felt it best to give each of them an opportunity to see the light through some truth rather than conjecture.
I am a chaplain in two long term care homes here in Ontario. In case you have not been following the news, LTC has been hit very hard with the COVID-19 pandemic. As I write this blog, there are well over 200 homes with outbreaks related to this coronavirus. There are hundreds of deaths in this province alone because as we have learned, the elderly are a prime target of the disease.
Now for some clarity of how these seniors contracted the virus. To put it simply, it came from outside the LTC homes, either by family members, staff or contractors. The other possibility is from residents who had been on an outing with family members or in a hospital. No resident just picked up the virus sitting in their room with no outside contact.
Now consider the idea of social distancing that has been in affect for about 6 weeks. Despite PPE like masks being worn by staff in LTC and despite our temperatures being taken at the beginning of each shift and at the close, residents are still dying in large numbers. While this is happening, hundreds of staff are also testing positive for the virus and a handful have died so far.
The other truth is that Public Health has been extremely slow in reporting deaths and the totals are increasing every day in large chunks and many more are still not reported. Yes, LTC will be under the microscope when this virus is under control but until then lives are still in danger.
It may not register with some but this pandemic is far from over. If all these measures have been in place for 6 weeks and people are still dying, that 14 day window of contracting the virus can't be true unless the problem lies with people not adhering to the warnings. Do the math and you will quickly realize the numbers don't add up. The point being that thousands of people have been walking around without symptoms and yet carrying the virus.
So as many are clambering for stores and restaurants to open, that second and perhaps even third wave is more and more likely. Those are the facts and they are based on what I see and experience working at LTC: and I work at two of the better homes in this province.
The next time you see a post on social media telling you that this virus is no different than the common cold, please consider "not" sharing it. You are not even remotely accurate in your assessment of the situation.
I am a chaplain in two long term care homes here in Ontario. In case you have not been following the news, LTC has been hit very hard with the COVID-19 pandemic. As I write this blog, there are well over 200 homes with outbreaks related to this coronavirus. There are hundreds of deaths in this province alone because as we have learned, the elderly are a prime target of the disease.
Now for some clarity of how these seniors contracted the virus. To put it simply, it came from outside the LTC homes, either by family members, staff or contractors. The other possibility is from residents who had been on an outing with family members or in a hospital. No resident just picked up the virus sitting in their room with no outside contact.
Now consider the idea of social distancing that has been in affect for about 6 weeks. Despite PPE like masks being worn by staff in LTC and despite our temperatures being taken at the beginning of each shift and at the close, residents are still dying in large numbers. While this is happening, hundreds of staff are also testing positive for the virus and a handful have died so far.
The other truth is that Public Health has been extremely slow in reporting deaths and the totals are increasing every day in large chunks and many more are still not reported. Yes, LTC will be under the microscope when this virus is under control but until then lives are still in danger.
It may not register with some but this pandemic is far from over. If all these measures have been in place for 6 weeks and people are still dying, that 14 day window of contracting the virus can't be true unless the problem lies with people not adhering to the warnings. Do the math and you will quickly realize the numbers don't add up. The point being that thousands of people have been walking around without symptoms and yet carrying the virus.
So as many are clambering for stores and restaurants to open, that second and perhaps even third wave is more and more likely. Those are the facts and they are based on what I see and experience working at LTC: and I work at two of the better homes in this province.
The next time you see a post on social media telling you that this virus is no different than the common cold, please consider "not" sharing it. You are not even remotely accurate in your assessment of the situation.
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