Halton Region is refusing to provide details about outbreaks of COVID-19 in two long-term care homes and four retirement homes, including Park Avenue Manor in Burlington.

Six people have died in the six outbreaks as of April 12, but the region won’t say what homes they lived in or provide updated numbers.

In total, 64 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 in these homes and at outbreaks at Joseph Brant Hospital. But officials won’t say where the confirmed cases are from or provide the number of infected staff.

Halton Region claims it “cannot speak to the details.”

But Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Brian Beamish, says “any non-identifying information about the virus should be shared as soon as possible,” including the names of specific facilities.

“Transparency is critical during a public health crisis,” said Beamish. “Ontario’s privacy laws are not a barrier to sharing information that can help keep the public informed about disease outbreaks and enhance public safety.”

Halton’s policies are in direct contrast to Hamilton public health, which has been providing details of its seven outbreaks.

“Health authorities should provide as much information as they can about infections and deaths, without naming individuals,” said Beamish.

It’s significant considering COVID-19 can spread rapidly in seniors’ homes such as an outbreak at Anson Place in Hagersville which has resulted in 19 deaths, 73 residents infected and at least 31 staff in quarantine.

“The most precious resource the public health community has is public trust and by ... withholding critically important information, they risk losing trust,” said Arthur Schafer, founding director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba. “There’s no good justification for withholding data and there is very strong reasons for providing it.”

Keeping information from the public creates anxiety, he says and it doesn’t allow for scrutiny. Details about the spread in other outbreaks led the federal and provincial governments to change their policies around long-term care during the pandemic.

“If you don’t provide the information, none of that is likely to happen,” said Schafer. “You won’t get proper accountability unless you’ve got transparency.”

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