Ontario Auditor General says, provincial government and the long-term care home sector were poorly prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic

Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk says both the provincial government and the long-term care home sector failed to heed lessons learned from the SARS epidemic and were poorly prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her report into the deaths of more than 3,700 nursing home residents last spring finds concerns about systemic weaknesses that had been raised for years were never addressed.

Among other things, Bonnie Lysyk says emergency planning was woefully inadequate.

Bonnie Lysyk says vaccinations have now blunted the impact of the virus but the sector remains vulnerable given past neglect.

Lysyk's report makes 16 recommendations, including the development of a provincial strategy to address the root causes of staffing shortages.