The Globe and Mail - 27.03.2020

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OTTAWA/QUEBECEDITION ■ FRIDAY,MARCH27,2020 ■ GLOBEANDMAIL.COM

British Columbia has dramatical-
ly stepped up its use of emergency
powers, giving itself the authority
to take over supply chains for de-
livering essential goods and ser-
vices throughout the province.
The sweeping moves grant B.C.

the ability to demand that retail-

ers and suppliers report invento-

ry of critical supplies, including

protective health equipment for

front-line workers. The measures

are being invoked in the midst of

lockdowns around the globe be-

cause of the COVID-19 pandemic,

which has led to disruptions in

the movement of supplies by

land, sea or air.

B.C. declared a state of emer-

gency on March 18, and the appli-

cation of these powers are on the

recommendation of Provincial

Medical Officer Bonnie Henry,

who has been grappling for weeks

with challenges in ensuring

health-care workers are equipped

for an expected surge in COVID-

cases.

The latest measures aim to

stem panic buying and hoarding

that have emptied grocery

shelves of staples. They also ad-

dress the shortages of protective

gear in hospitals that have

prompted rationing of equip-

ment for health-care workers as

they brace for growing numbers

of COVID-19-infected patients.

“The steps we’re taking today

are unprecedented. But I find my-

self saying that almost every day,”

Premier John Horgan told report-

ers during a news conference in

Victoria.

There has yet to be an emer-

gency federal plan to respond to

concerns about bottlenecks in

Canada’s supply chains, but B.C. is

forging ahead with its own mea-

sures.

SUPPLIES,A

B.C.totakeoveressentialsupplychains

Provincewillboostits useofemergencypowerstoaddresspanicbuyingandashortageofprotectivegearinhospitals

JUSTINEHUNTERVICTORIA
IANBAILEYVANCOUVER

Ourfirstannualreport

onfemaleleadershipin

corporateCanada

INSIDE,FORSUBSCRIBERS

Womenlead

here

ROBMAGAZINE

HEALTH

Canadiansanswerthe

calltodonateblood A

BANKING

Morethan200,

seekmortgagerelief B

At least 16 nursing homes in On-

tario have confirmed cases of CO-

VID-19 among residents or staff, a

figure the provincialgovernment

has not made public despite the

heavy toll the new coronavirus is

likely to take on frail seniors in

long-term care.

Ten of the homes with con-

firmed cases are in Toronto, in-

cluding Seven Oaks, a city-owned

facility where two residents have

died of COVID-19, the disease

caused by the virus.

The tally also includes a nurs-

ing home in Bobcaygeon where

14 staff members have tested pos-

itive and two residents have died.

The provincial government re-

leases total numbers of con-

firmed cases, but gives few de-

tails. Local public-health units

communicate other information.

This stands in stark contrast to

the approaches of British Colum-

bia, Alberta and other provinces,

which announce cases in long-

term care at daily briefings and

update the numbers online.

When asked by The Globe and

Mail this week how many long-

term care homes in the province

had confirmed at least one case of

COVID-19 in a resident or worker,

the Ontario Ministry of Health

was unable to say. The Globe then

asked all 34 local public-health

units directly.

NURSINGHOMES,A

Information

gapwidens

inOntarioas

virushits

nursinghomes

KELLYGRANTHEALTHREPORTER

SPAINLAUNCHES‘REALWAR’INRACE

TOSECUREMEDICALSUPPLIES

Withadeathtollthathasclimbedabove4,000,countryisfeelingthe

squeezefromaglobalshortageofprotectiveequipment A

Health-careworkersonthefrontlinesofthecoronaviruscrisistakeabreakatahospitalin

northwesternSpainonThursday.MIGUELRIOPA/AFPVIAGETTYIMAGES

The federalgovernment is shut-
ting the doors to all of its 317 Ser-
vice Canada Centres – where
people can apply in person for
employment insurance, Old Age
Security, pension benefits and
passports – on Friday after em-
ployees en masse refused to
work.
The government bent to pres-
sure Thursday evening from the
Canadian Employment and Im-
migration Union, which repre-
sents 17,000 Service Canada em-
ployees, including 3,360 who
staff the centres.
Many had called in sick or re-
fused to work because they
didn’t feel safe during the coro-
navirus pandemic, despite safe
distancing measures put in place
that kept the centres open, said
Crystal Warner, executive vice-
president with the union.
That’s because the centres
were crowded and efforts to con-
trol the traffic resulted in long
lines outside and sometimes
irate visitors, she said. In recent
days, so many missed work that
187 centres closed on Thursday –
almost 60 per cent of the net-
work.
Under the new measures, staff

will still come to work at the cen-

tres but the front doors will be

locked. People who show up will

be redirected to Service Canada’s

website and phone number. Staff

will help them remotely by ap-

pointment, except in rare cir-

cumstances where applicants

have accessibility issues. In those

cases, they can come in to meet

staff in sanitized rooms, at a safe

distance.

“More workers will come back

Friday because the doors will be

closed,” Ms. Warner said Thurs-

day after learning of the changes.

”This means more people will be

served.”

Job losses across Canada have

exploded in the past two weeks

amid a widespread shutdown of

the economy to slow the spread

of the virus. That overwhelmed

the government as almost one

million people last week alone

filed for unemployment benefits.

The government encouraged

Canadians to apply for services

available through the centres on-

line, by telephone or by mail in-

stead, asking those with symp-

toms of COVID-19 to self-isolate

and stay away.

It gave protective gloves to

employees and posted them by

the doors to limit the number of

people inside.

SERVICE CANADA, A

OttawaclosingServiceCanada

Centresasemployeesrefuse

toworkoversafetyconcerns

SEANSILCOFFOTTAWA
TOMCARDOSOTORONTO

T

he main hospital in Cremona, in northern

Italy, was overwhelmed. Since the start of

Italy’s coronavirus crisis last month, none of

the patients in its small critical-care unit

had survived.

As desperation set in among the hospital workers,

an ancient DC-8 jet landed nearby, at Verona airport,

on March 17 and discharged a team of medics that in-

cluded eight Canadian nurses and 20 tonnes of

equipment. With military speed and precision, the

team erected a M*A*S*H-style emergency field hos-

pital next to Cremona’s hospital within 36 hours and

set to work trying to save lives in the deadliest of Eu-

rope’s COVID-19 hot spots.

Four days later, the DC-8 delivered more medics

and equipment. Today, the field hospital, operated

by Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian charity, has 14 tents

and 68 beds; 10 of the beds form an intensive-care

unit and each is equipped with a pulmonary respira-

tor, a proved life-saver for the critically ill. “You could

say we’re an extension of the Cremona hospital,”

said Ian Stokes, international disaster response di-

rector for Samaritan’s Purse Canada.

Other than saving lives, the medics’ goal is to learn

as much about the new virus as they can on the as-

sumption that the Italian tragedy could be repeated

in Canada and the United States. “The nurses will

bring valuable insights when they return to Canada

about treating COVID-19 patients,” Mr. Stokes said.

John Troke, 43, who is from Winnipeg and is the

nursing team leader, said the overburdened Cremo-

na hospital is grateful for the instant field hospital.

CREMONA,A

MAS*H,Italian-style:

Canadiandoctorsfight

COVID-19inthefield

ERICREGULY

EUROPEANBUREAUCHIEF

ROME