Long term care advocates are accusing Premier Doug Ford of downplaying the devastation caused by COVID-19 in some nursing homes, especially at Roberta Place in Barrie.

The death toll related to the virus there is now at 45 – 44 residents and an essential caregiver.

Premier Ford continues to insist it’s not necessary to send in the military to assist, saying he’s been told by the Red Cross inside Roberta Place the military is not needed.

But essential caregiver Maureen McDermott says she finds it hard to believe the premier would’ve been told that.

“It is a humanitarian crisis. It’s immediate and we do need that military in here and I want to know personally, as does everyone else in Ontario, who exactly told you not to make that call?” McDermott asked of the premier on CP24.

There is a revised plan to move-up vaccinating all nursing home residents in the province against COVID-19 by February 5th rather than the original date of February 15th.

“I don’t understand how they’re going to fulfill that ambitious target without any vaccines in the fridges,” Zoomer Magazine Editor Peter Muggeridge told Zoomer Radio’s Fight Back with guest host Jane Brown, “It just looks like it’s a lot of public posturing. Everyone knows, you don’t have to be an epidemiologist to know that this virus was spreading like wildfire in nursing homes. Where would you vaccinate first? Nursing homes, long term care, and it wasn’t done.”

The previous goal of February 15th had included the vaccination of long-term care staff and caregivers, as well as nursing home residents. Now unvaccinated long term care staff and caregivers will have to wait.