The agency responsible for protecting the health of Ontarians is vastly under-reporting the number of deaths caused by COVID-19 at long-term-care homes in the province, a Star analysis has found. As of Wednesday morning, Public Health Ontario was reporting 144 residents of Ontario long-term-care homes had died during a confirmed COVID-19 outbreak. But a Star analysis of deaths reported by the province’s regional public health units and local media reveals there have been at least 219 deaths at Ontario long-term-care homes — a difference of more than 50 per cent. As of Tuesday, Toronto Public Health was reporting 68 COVID-19 deaths in long-term-care homes in the city, including 23 at the privately run Eatonville Care Centre in Etobicoke, and 22 deaths at city-run Seven Oaks in Scarborough. Ontario Public Health reported Wednesday that about 41 per cent of COVID-19 cases in Ontario are in people 60 years of age and older.

Source: thestar April 16, 2020 01:30 UTC