Some of the most catastrophic outbreaks of COVID-19 in Canada have occurred in long-term care homes. While residents in these homes tend to be older and at greater risk for COVID-19, that’s only part of the reason these facilities are being hit so hard during the pandemic. Another major factor is the way the long-term care sector is staffed in Canada: low-wage workers in precarious jobs with no paid sick leave. 

Today in The Conversation Canada, public health researcher Iffath Unissa Syed and emergency physician Jesse McLaren from the University of Toronto shine a light on the deadly results of denying workers paid sick days. When part-time employees work at several sites with no job security or benefits, the financial consequences for staying home from work when they are ill are severe. The COVID-19 pandemic illustrates the urgency of addressing the issue of paid sick leave.

Also today:

Regards,

Patricia Nicholson

Health + Medicine Editor
A personal support worker with West Neighbourhood House’s Parkdale Assisted Living Program on her way to see a resident at Toronto’s May Robinson apartments seniors’ housing on April 17 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care highlight the urgent need for paid sick leave

Iffath Unissa Syed, University of Toronto; Jesse McLaren, University of Toronto

One of the factors that has made COVID-19 so catastrophic in long-term care homes was lack of paid sick leave for low-wage workers.
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Heather Lawford, Bishop's University; Heather L. Ramey, Brock University; Jessica Riddell, Bishop's University

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La Conversation Canada
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Sans des mesures plus écologiques, une hausse du réchauffement planétaire limitée à 1,5 °C sera hors d’atteinte

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Plusieurs pays ont pris l’engagement de réduire leurs émissions de gaz à effet de serre à zéro d’ici le milieu du siècle. Mais de nouvelles recherches montrent que ce n’est pas suffisant.

Oceans 21
Shutterstock/Elovich

Marine viruses: the tiny microbes that orchestrate life in the ocean

Dolors Vaqué, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar (ICM-CSIC)

There are more viruses in the ocean than stars in the Milky Way – and they're fundamental to Earth's biodiversity.

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