The trade union that represents registered nurses across the province is mourning one of its own.
The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) announced Tuesday night that Brian Beattie, a registered nurse at Kensington Village in London, has died as a result of COVID-19.
ONA President Vicki McKenna said Beattie was a dedicated registered nurse and was well respected in his field.
"He was the definition of dedication, and he considered his colleagues and residents to be his ‘other family,’" she said in a statement. "He loved the work he did, and he also advocated for his colleagues to have personal protective equipment to keep both them and the residents safe. He will be deeply missed by his colleagues and the residents he cared for."
The ONA said it will be providing support to his colleagues and staff who worked with Beattie. The Ministry of Labour has also been called to investigate the death and the ONA said it will be cooperating throughout the process.
“While there will be much discussion about Ontario’s pandemic preparedness and protection of nurses and health-care workers, this is not the time for speculation,” says McKenna. “ONA will not comment further at this time.”
NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath also expressed her condolences to Beattie's friends and family Tuesday evening.
“I also want to extend my condolences to the residents and staff at Kensington Village, as well as to all Ontario nurses, who I know will feel this loss deeply," Horwath said in a statement. "It’s an incredibly difficult time to lose a loved one — a time when people can’t gather to mourn, to remember and to support each other through their grief. May our province never forget the health care heroes that have tragically lost their lives during this pandemic.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, London-Middlesex had 458 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 303 of those cases now resolved. A total of 45 people have died in the area as a result of the virus.