Child-care centres in Ontario concerned about limited N95 mask supply from province
Several Ontario child-care centres are raising concerns about limited supplies of N95 masks provided by the government, saying they have no indication on when they will receive more.
The province announced last week that it was sending the high-quality masks to all schools and childcare centres as Ontario fights a wave of the highly infectious Omicron variant. A government spokeswoman said Tuesday that an "ongoing and steady supply" of N95s will be provided to daycares.
Lori Prospero, CEO of RisingOaks Early Learning, said she's "really thankful" for the N95s the province recently provided but noted that the masks shipped so far are only enough to last staff about a week or two.
She said the organization's eight locations in the Waterloo region have received no word from the government as to when more N95s will arrive, how many they will receive, or how regularly supplies will be replenished.
"We'd like to know when we're getting more masks and if the number of masks coming will be increased, so that we can meet the one mask per day guideline that the ministry has set," she said.
In the meantime, she said staff at the centres have been given the option to use UV sanitizing devices to clean their masks and store them in paper bags for potential reuse later.
"Until we receive more information about further stock from the ministry, (that's) sort of the creativity that we have to put in place," she said.
Christa O'Connor, executive director of Creative Beginnings Childcare Centre, said her organization received 240 masks for 56 staff at its two locations in the Waterloo area, which would last them about four days if each employee used one a day.
O'Connor said the staff at those centres are also waiting to hear more from the government about upcoming N95 shipments. The organization received an additional 200 N95 masks from a local school, which they are going through as well.
"The province as a whole has kind of neglected the child-care sector from the beginning of the pandemic," she said.
"I think they're the forgotten heroes, so to speak, we've never closed we've stayed open the entire time -- when schools close and go to online learning, child-care (centres) still stay open."
In Toronto, Blossoming Minds Learning Centre executive director Maggie Moser said her daycare received 120 masks to supply a total of 40 staff -- enough for about three days -- despite asking the province for 1,000 masks.
Moser said her centre has gone ahead and ordered 160 N95s -- the maximum that could be ordered from a certain manufacturer -- for about $300. She said the centre plans to order more in the future, depending on the number of masks supplied from the government, even though they come at a hefty price.
The masks "absolutely" make child-care staff feel safer doing their jobs, which involve close contact with many children who are too young to be vaccinated or masked, Moser said.
A spokeswoman for Education Minister Stephen Lecce said Ontario is "going above and beyond public health guidance to reduce risk" in supplying N95s to education and child care staff.
"An ongoing and steady supply of N95s is being provided on a regular basis to education and child care staff to protect staff, children and communities," Caitlin Clark said in a written statement.
Clark noted that the initial shipment volumes of N95 masks "reflect either the actual order placed by the school board or child care centre or the monthly average order of surgical/procedural masks plus 25 per cent margin."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.