COVID-19 in N.L. long-term care as serious as ever, says union president

Unions representing health-care workers in Newfoundland and Labrador long-term care homes say rampant COVID-19 infections in staff and residents are making a difficult situation even worse.

Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees president Jerry Earle told CBC News nearly 800 health-care workers, most of them in long-term care, are off due to COVID-19, most of them in long-term care.

"It's probably as serious as it ever was because the numbers of health care workers are either positive or in isolation are equivalent to any time during the pandemic," Earle said Friday.

Earlier this week, Health Minister John Haggie told CBC News that the province's health care system would be "managed" to deal with the rising levels of COVID-19. Earle said NAPE represents about 85 per cent of the province's long-term care staff, and Haggie's comments don't reflect what he's been hearing from members.

"In long-term care we are not managing. We have facilities that are actually functioning short at some times."

The number of long-term care home staff in isolation due to COVID-19 varies day to day. CBC News has asked each regional health authority how many workers are currently off due to COVID-19. As of Friday evening, the only regional health authority to reply was Western Health, which said 27 out of 660 long-term care home staff were in isolation.

As of Friday, 38 people were in hospital due to COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador — down two from a provincial record of 40 set Monday. However, Yvette Coffey, president of the union representing the province's registered nurses, says that number doesn't reflect the number of patients and residents in hospital or long-term care who have COVID-19.

"The actual number of patients and residents that are infected with COVID, either after admission or in our long term care facilities, is much higher," Coffey said Thursday.

Coffey said she's heard of COVID-19 outbreaks in multiple long-term care facilities, including Lakeside Homes, a facility in Gander, where she said nearly 60 per cent of residents have recently been infected.

Earle said some long-term care homes are struggling to maintain enough staff to provide basic personal care for residents, who often need help with tasks like eating and bathing. He said he's heard from health-care workers who believe public health restrictions were lifted too soon and would like to see some reinstated, especially in health-care facilities.

"We certainly got to sit down and see what can we do to ensure things stabilize and doesn't worse," he said.

Earle said the number of patients and residents who have COVID-19 also puts a strain on staff because of the extra level of care they require.

Health officials said part of the reason for lifting public health restrictions in March was to begin a return to normalcy, but on Friday, the director of information and referral services for Seniors N.L. said most seniors who contact the organization are still hunkering down to avoid becoming infected.

"It's very hard for people's mental health, and of course, you know, isolation and loneliness actually can affect your physical health as well," Elizabeth Siegel said.