A day of action gets underway today, May 1 at 12 p.m. to rally for the residents and workers of long-term care facilities that have been ravaged by COVID-19.

The Ontario Health Coalition, with the support of the Ontario Federal of Labour, called for the virtual rally that will take place as a Facebook event beginning at noon and running until 11:30 p.m.

Organizers have appealed to the Ontario government to immediately improve access to personal protective equipment, permanently improved wages and working conditions for staff such as personal support workers, a four-hour minimum care standard, better infection control, and the elimination of for-profit long-term care.

“Workers need the protection of N-95 respirators or better, not just surgical masks. They need gloves, face shields, gowns and other protections,” Ontario Federation of Labour president Patty Coates said. “These should not be rationed, nor should disposable respirators be reused because doing so contributes to the increase in the number of health care workers suffering from COVID-19.”

“Personal support workers play a vital role in keeping Ontarians healthy and safe. It’s time that the province regulates the long-term care industry to protect residents, workers, and all Ontarians,” she added.

Coalition spokesperson Natalie Mehra said her organization is hearing from all corners of Ontario and, while measures recently taken by the provincial government are welcome and appreciated, there still remains a dangerous disconnect between what Premier Doug Ford said he is going to do, and the actual policy measures that are put in place.

“In calling for concrete improvements, the coalition does not want to take away from what has been done, particularly (with regard) to improved testing, access to personal protective equipment, the very significant $4-hour wage increase, some measures to help increase staffing on a temporary and sporadic basis, improved isolation in some homes, and safer requirements regarding admissions and readmissions.” Mehra said in a statement.

“Still, there are significant problems and concrete measures that remain to be done that would help to stop the spread and stabilize long-term care, and the coalition is calling for real commitments from the Ford government on these concrete issues,” she added.