/R E P E A T -- Media Advisory - ONA, OCHU/CUPE, SEIU, OPSEU available at Queen's Park media conference Friday at 10:00 a.m./

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Ontario Nurses' Association

Mar 13, 2020, 07:00 ET

Leaders call for protection from COVID-19 for health-care staff

TORONTO, March 12, 2020 /CNW/ - Leaders of the Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA), Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE), Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) will be available at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, March 13 to discuss the serious issue of direct access to appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following a leaked document that showed the government is watering down guidelines regarding the appropriate level of personal protective equipment for front-line health-care workers, the union leaders released a joint statement released yesterday (https://www.ona.org/news-posts/20200311-covid19-joint-statement/). They are calling for frank and honest discussions between health-care unions and the Ontario government and say that if there is a shortage of equipment, there are other measures that can be taken to keep health-care workers and their patients safe from transmission.

The unions continue to call for the use of the precautionary principle – to err on the side of caution – and believe the province will repeat the mistakes made during the 2003 SARS outbreak.

ONA, CUPE, SEIU and OPSEU together represent more than one-quarter of a million health-care staff in hospitals, long-term care homes and community settings province-wide.

WHAT: Media conference on COVID-19 preparedness and the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) for Ontario's health-care workers
WHEN: Friday, March 13 at 10 a.m.
WHERE: Queen's Park Media Studio

Visit us at: 
www.ona.org; Facebook.com/OntarioNurses; www.Twitter.com/OntarioNurses
ochu.on.ca; https://www.facebook.com/ochucupe/

SOURCE Ontario Nurses' Association

Stella Yeadon, CUPE: Cell: 416-559-9300, [email protected]; Sheree Bond, ONA: Cell: 416-986-8240, [email protected]; Warren (Smokey) Thomas, OPSEU: Cell: 613-329-1931; Corey Johnson, SEIU, Cell: 416-529-8909, [email protected]

Related Links

www.ona.org

Organization Profile

Ontario Nurses' Association

The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) is the union representing more than 68,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals, as well as 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and...