A military report on five long-term care homes in Ontario details troubling allegations such as rooming COVID-19 positive patients with uninfected ones, insect infestations and aggressive resident feeding that led to choking.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called in military assistance last month for five long-term care homes dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks.
Ford says he'll move "heaven and earth" to fix these problems, and calls it a wakeup call for the entire country.
He says the document, which was provided to the province by the federal government over the weekend, is the most heart-wrenching report he has ever read.
Ford says it's clear that the long-term care system is broken.
He also says he's not ruling out a public inquiry, which he had previously declined.
The province has seen more than 1,500 residents of long-term care homes and six staff members die in outbreaks.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has seen the report, calls it ``deeply disturbing.''
The allegations detailed by Canadian Armed Forces members also include failure to isolate COVID-19-positive patients and allowing them to wander outside of their rooms.
At one home, the military reports ``significant'' fecal contamination in resident rooms, cockroach infestations, residents not being bathed in weeks, and some crying out for help for more than two hours.
Since members of the military began providing operational assistance in Ontario, 14 of them have become infected with COVID-19.
More to come...