TORONTO — Residents of Ontario long-term care homes can visit outdoors with friends and family starting this weekend, the province announced Friday after advocates called for the change to safely reunite isolated seniors with their loved ones.
The associate deputy minister of long-term care announced the policy change in a memo to licensees.
"This is a truly important step for residents and their families, and I know despite the rapid notice, our home partners supported outdoor visits last summer and will be adept at making this a success," Erin Hannah wrote.
Hannah said the change was being made to align with loosening provincial rules around outdoor activities that were set to go into effect at midnight on Saturday.
"I know you have been planning for this already with the onset of spring and the warmer weather and the impassioned calls from residents and their families to enable them to see one another outside," the memo said.
Advocates and family members had been calling for the strict rules to change in light of high vaccination rates in the homes, which were devastated by thousands of infections and deaths during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Outdoor visits were initially not permitted during the provincewide stay-at-home order, set to expire on June 2, but rules around small outdoor gatherings and recreational activities are loosening this weekend as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations drop.
Homes are being asked to communicate with communities about how to book visits and about public health measures still in effect, such as COVID-19 screening questions upon arrival, masks and physical distancing.
The ministry says general visitors won't need to take a rapid antigen COVID-19 test for outdoor visits.
A maximum of two general visitors are allowed per resident at one time, in addition to designated essential caregivers. Children aged two and younger do not count towards the visitor maximum, the memo said.
Hannah’s memo said outdoor visits can happen in the "general vicinity" of the home if the facility doesn’t have suitable outdoor space.
The news came as Ontario reported a record-high number of COVID-19 vaccine doses given out in a single day.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 158,524 shots were administered in Ontario since Thursday's report.
More than 7.7 million doses have been administered in Ontario overall.
Also on Friday, the province announced it would resume use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a second dose.
The province had been holding tens of thousands of shots set to expire on May 31, after it paused use of the vaccine earlier this month over links to rare but potentially fatal blood clots.
The province reported 1,890 new cases of COVID-19 and 27 more deaths from the virus on Friday.
The Ministry of Health said 1,265 people were in hospital with the virus as of Friday morning, including 715 in intensive care and 510 on ventilators.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2021.
The Canadian Press
