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“Our homes across the Extendicare network are following all advice from public health and in some cases have implemented policies before directives were issues. We continue to work with our public health partners to ensure our practices are informed by the most up-to-date evidence.”

Photo by Tony Caldwell / Postmedia

The Gloucester long-term care home has been one of the worst hit by COVID-19 in the area. As of Friday, 39 residents and seven staff members had tested positive at the 240-bed home, according to Ottawa Public Health. More were being tested this week.

Earlier this week, members of the home’s family council pleaded for additional help, saying it was “under siege” from COVID-19. It is now among the homes receiving assistance from special hospital teams to help stop the spread of the virus.

Union officials and staff, speaking on the condition of anonymity, say they have had ongoing concerns about infection control at the home during the pandemic.

They described the home as chaotic and reactive leading up to and during the current COVID-19 outbreak there, with some employees refusing to work because they felt it was unsafe and others ignoring alleged directions to reuse disposable parts of thermometers because they believed that could spread the novel coronavirus.

Ontario’s Ministry of Labour is investigating complaints from the union and individual employees, said CUPE national representative Jacynthe Barbeau.

“COVID-19 is difficult and it does get out of control for so many different reasons, but in this situation so many things could have potentially been avoided had they taken appropriate proactive rather than reactive action,” said Barbeau. “We have had to really push them to do anything.”