Visitors to the Toronto Voluntary Isolation Centre get free Wi-Fi, three catered meals daily, and a personalized welcome note from medical officer of health Dr. Eileen de Villa — but no room key, an effort to encourage those with COVID-19 to stay inside their rooms.
The isolation hotel, the first of its kind in Canada when it opened three months ago, is by all accounts safe, quiet and comfortable. Yet only about 150 people have opted to use the facility so far, a fraction of its peak capacity.
It’s not because of a lack of need. Cramped, unsuitable housing, where self-isolation may be difficult or impossible, continues to be a major driver of new infections in the city, data suggests.
