Ontario's long-term care minister says the province wants to take a cautious approach to easing pandemic restrictions for the sector, while stressing that the COVID-19 situation is improving.
As rules began easing for long-term care residents today, Paul Calandra said vaccinations have been helping homes weather the Omicron wave.
He couldn't provide details, however, on the vaccination status of residents who've been dying in increasing numbers since the new variant took hold.
Deaths in the sector spiked in January during the Omicron wave, with 185 reported over the past two weeks.
The number of homes in outbreak stood at 290 on Monday _ or 46 per cent of all homes _ down slightly from last week.
Starting this week, residents can have four designated caregivers, up from two, though only two can visit at a time.
Long-term care residents who've had three COVID-19 vaccine doses can resume social day trips.
General visits and other social activities won't resume until weeks from now _ to the dismay of some critics _ but Calandra said that's because the province is being cautious.