Toronto says a person with monkeypox at a homeless shelter has been moved to an isolation center

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TORONTO — A Toronto public health unit is investigating whether there could be more monkeypox infections at a homeless shelter after confirming a person with the virus recently visited the facility.

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A statement by city officials Monday said the person was taken to Toronto’s COVID-19 Isolation and Recovery Center, which also houses people who need isolation for monkeypox. It said city public health and housing officials are investigating “to see if there are any additional cases.”

The city did not release the identity of the shelter, did not say how long the person had stayed there, or confirmed if the shelter is experiencing a monkeypox outbreak as a result.

Diana Chan McNally, a community worker at a Toronto shelter, said the spread of monkeypox in the Toronto shelter system, in addition to ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks and other infectious diseases present in shelters, “could be a recipe for mass infection.”

“It’s a disease that can strike anyone,” said All Saints Drop-in’s Chan McNally. “If you have people in close proximity to each other, sharing spaces and tight quarters in gathering environments, I expect we’re going to see mass infection within the system.”

The city said it continues to work with health professionals to reduce the risk of monkeypox, COVID-19 and other communicable diseases in high-risk settings like emergency shelters.

To limit case numbers in shelters, the city continues to practice prevention and control measures such as improved cleaning protocols and the use of personal protective equipment. The city also said it is working with specialists to minimize transmission through audits, training and outbreak management planning with shelter providers.

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Toronto’s Shelter, Support and Housing Administration is working with Toronto Public Health to determine if a monkeypox vaccination program can be developed for the shelter system, the city said.

Now that monkeypox has been confirmed in the shelter system, Chan McNally said people experiencing homelessness should be among the groups that should be prioritized for vaccination.

“We need to make sure shelter hotels don’t close, and we need to ramp up recovery sites for COVID and monkeypox,” said Chan McNally. “We currently do not have enough space considering potential mass infection.”

Chan McNally also said the city should be more forthcoming with information about the confirmed case, for the sake of those entering the protection system.

“I understand it hasn’t been declared an outbreak yet… but I’m really angry that there’s no information about it,” she said.

“It’s not that I know, it’s about people who are affected by homelessness and have a right to know if their health could potentially be at risk if they are currently at this shelter or plan to be in enter the system.”

Public Health Ontario said there were 367 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the province as of Thursday, with nearly 78 percent in Toronto. Almost all affected individuals are said to be male, with only two reported in female patients. The agency said most cases have been in men who report close contact with men, but said anyone can get monkeypox.

The virus generally does not spread easily and is transmitted through prolonged close contact via respiratory droplets, direct contact with skin lesions or body fluids, or through contaminated clothing or bedding.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 1, 2022.