Inquiry into COVID-19 response at Ontario long-term care homes begins

The commission of inquiry into the COVID-19 response in Ontario’s long-term care homes has begun.

The commission is being led by associate chief justice of the Superior Court Frank Marrocco.

He is tasked with investigating why nursing homes were hit so hard by COVID-19 and whether the province did enough to prevent and contain its spread.

While Ontario’s long-term care minister Merrilee Fullerton says the commission will hold public hearings, the commission itself says it has yet to make a decision on that.

To date, 1,822 residents and eight staff have died in Ontario’s long-term care homes during the pandemic.