A Toronto long-term care home has placed 79 staff members on unpaid and indefinite leave as part of its required COVID-19 vaccination policy.
Copernicus Lodge on Roncesvalles Avenue says that when the policy was announced on September 10, there were 111 unvaccinated employees. Since then, 32 have received their first doses and the rest have been suspended.
A statement from the long-term care home says they have been planning since early summer the possibility of a staff storage due to their low number of vaccinated staff, even before the immunization policy was implemented.
They have already completed the licensed staff positions and are currently fully staffed. All household workers have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We are hopeful that our staff will decide to get vaccinated and return to work,” the statement read.
Ontario announced a mandate that would require all long-term care workers to be vaccinated by November 15 or they would not be able to enter a home.
Previously, workers were required to disclose their vaccination status and those who are not vaccinated for non-medical reasons should be educated on the importance of immunization.
Phillips said that while 90 percent of the overall staff have received at least one dose, there are dozens of households with vaccination rates below 80 percent.
Reference-toronto.citynews.ca